Source: http://www.marinij.com, October 21, 2016
By:   Richard Halstead
Forty loads of contaminated soil must be trucked out of San Anselmo because the earth beneath a commercial property along the Ross border contains toxic chemicals, state authorities said.
The groundwater also will have to be treated at the .32-acre parcel at 4 and 8 Bolinas Ave. and 21 San Anselmo Ave.
The property, which is home to a single-story, 5,530-square-foot building and a parking lot, is within a few blocks of St. Anselm School and day care facilities Ross Cottage Nursery School and Kid’s Place.
Two businesses lease space there — Bolinas Avenue Market and Pilates Proworks.
The primary chemical found on the parcel is tetrachoroethene (PCE), a chemical commonly used by dry cleaners in the past. Speed Queen Fabric Care Laundromat, a former business at the site, used PCE to do its dry-cleaning, according to the state Department of Toxic Substances Control.
The state is recommending the excavation and disposal of approximately 715 cubic yards of soil and on-site treatment of groundwater. The cost of the clean-up, estimated at over $500,000, is likely to be borne by the property’s majority owner, the DeMartini Group; Quik Stop Market Inc., which was the master lessee of the property from March 1971 to July 2002; and possibly other members of the DeMartini family.
“The owners have plans for appropriate cleanup of the property, are in compliance with all agency orders, directives and requests, and no fines have been issued or threatened,” said Nicole Gleason, a lawyer representing the DeMartini Group.
San Anselmo Town Manager Debra Stutsman said she only learned of the cleanup plan last week when a public notice appeared in the newspaper.
Stutsman said it is unclear at this point whether the state will have to secure town permits for the planned work. She said town officials have known for some time that the site is contaminated.
“We’re just glad the state is moving forward with a plan to get it cleaned up,” she said.
The property was initially developed for commercial use as a Rexall Drugstore in 1957. In 1971, the site was leased to Quik Stop Markets Inc., which divided the building into three tenant spaces. Quik Stop subleased one of the spaces to Speed Queen Fabric Care Laundromat, which also operated a dry-cleaning business at the 8 Bolinas Ave. site from 1972 to about 1982.
The state agency says it has found significant levels of PCE and its break-down products trichloroethene (TCE), cis-1,2-dichloroethene, and vinyl chloride in groundwater, soil and soil vapor at the site. The agency said concentrations are high enough to potentially pose a risk to human health and the environment.
Both PCE and TCE are listed as known carcinogens under Proposition 65.
PCE and its break-down products have been found in shallow groundwater, approximately 7 to 10 feet below the ground surface. The state’s analysis indicates the site is in the Ross Valley groundwater basin and that water from the site is migrating southeast in the direction of San Anselmo Creek, which is also less than a block away.
State officials have indicated that additional groundwater monitoring wells will be required to better determine the growth of the PCE plume.
The state also notes that the toxic chemicals have been found in soil vapor, and have a potential to impact indoor air.
Environmental Audit Inc., the environmental engineering consultant hired to assess the site, concluded that current conditions pose no immediate health risk. Its report states that groundwater in the basin is used only for landscape irrigation, both public and private.
Groundwater samples were obtained from an irrigation well at 10 Bolinas Ave., which is to the west of the site, and no harmful chemicals were detected.
“It doesn’t have any effect on our water,” said Michelle Zoila-Shaffer, director of Ross Cottage Nursery School, which is situated due west of the polluted site at 7 Shanley Lane.
Zoila-Shaffer said the school’s water does not come from a local well.
Kim Orendorff, principal at St. Anselm School, declined to comment.
Environmental Audit states that “since shallow groundwater beneath the site is not used for municipal purposes, the only exposure pathway for impacted groundwater is volatilization of volatile organic chemicals from the groundwater table and subsequent vapor intrusion to indoor air.”
DTSC says that due to the high concentration of PCE and TCE in the soil, vapors may have been released into the indoor air at the site.
“I’m not concerned,” said Ansari Violette, owner of Pilates Proworks. “There is nothing conclusive. A potential is not a threat.”
Violette said she purchases bottled water for consumption at Pilates Proworks.
Aman Singh, who operates Bolinas Avenue Market along with his family, said he needs more information to assess the risk to his business. Singh said he also uses bottled water.
The state is accepting public comment on its work plan for cleaning up the site until Nov. 17. Comments can be sent to Nina Bacey, project manager, DTSC Berkeley office, 700 Heinz Ave., Berkeley, 94710 or via email at Juanita.Bacey@dtsc.ca.gov.