Source: http://www.tmcnet.com, June 11, 2014
A site in Irvine’s business district where Xerox had once cleaned copiers and equipment with chemical solvents will get its own cleanup.
The Department of Toxic Substances Control plans to scoop out contaminated soil and monitor groundwater at the site near the corner of Jamboree Road and Dupont Drive and make sure that any eventual development on the land is restricted to commercial or industrial uses, at least on the ground floor. Apartments surround the area.
The site has been cleaned up and investigated before, as early as the mid-1980s, but an earlier attempt to suck out chemical vapors from the hard, clay soil was stopped.
Officials with the state agency likened it to a house vacuum that doesn’t have enough suction to clean up a thick rug.
“Now, we’re removing the carpet,” said Allan Plaza, unit chief with the department.
It’ll cost Xerox an expected $1.1 million on the cleanup.
The agency is seeking public comments on its plan through June 27, with the information available at www.envirostor.dtsc.ca.gov/public. Comments should be emailed to Steven Rounds, the project manager, at Steven.Rounds@dtsc.ca.gov.
The site is adjacent to another that also was owned by Xerox called the Teller site because of its proximity to Teller Avenue. That area already has been cleaned up. The contamination there wasn’t as extensive as what was leftover at the Jamboree site, Plaza and Rounds said. The agency went through a similar process of soil excavation and obtained a deed restriction, which is in its final stages of completion.
The two sites are owned by different private entities. The Teller site is owned by real estate firm Hines. The Jamboree site is owned by a pension fund for employees of GenCorp.
So far, no development applications have been submitted to the city, said city spokesman Craig Reem. David Hatch, with GenCorp, said the company has been waiting patiently for cleanup of the site and plans to eventually either sell it or seek a developer to build on it.