BRIDGE PROJECT HALTED
Buried chemicals uncovered at Driftwood site

Construction on the new Route 555 bridge in Driftwood was halted last Monday afternoon when workers uncovered an "unknown" chemical that gave off noxious fumes and sent a couple construction workers to the hospital.

According to Marlaine Fannin, community relations coordinator in the Pa. Dept of Transportation's (PennDOT) regional office, at least two workers were taken to DuBois Regional Medical Center, complaining of sore, raw throats. They were later released.

Work was taking place on the south side of the bridge on an old factory site that had been reclaimed in 2002. A backhoe operator and others noticed a "foul odor" when a hole was being dug near the creek bed. Workers stopped digging immediately and covered the hole.

There's no evidence that suggests any of the material got into the Driftwood Branch of the Sinnemahoning River.

Terry Fulton, who owns a store on the adjacent lot, said he believes the backhoe hit a buried tank. Workers had earlier been discussing a large pipe that protrudes from the ground in the middle of the construction area. They now believe it to be a part of an underground tank.

The parcel, the site of a former metal wire plant, was recovered nearly six years ago by Environmental Resources Management of Exton. They were contracted to complete remediation of site soil, which was contaminated with chlorinated solvents, diesel fuel, lead, other organics, inorganics, PCBs and unleaded gasoline.

Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection in September 2006 said Environmental Resources Management's "final report demonstrated attainment of the Site-Specific Standard and Statewide Health Standard." The reclamation report was then approved by DEP.

PennDOT officials believe workers likely dug into a pocket of chemicals that remained trapped in the soil at the site. No official word has yet been received on what the material is and if it is or is not contained in a tank.

"At this point, it's impossible to predict what our next move will be until we know the type and the amount of the material that we're dealing with," said Fannin.

Kent Renaud, a PennDOT assistant construction engineer who is assigned to the project, said work on the south side of the stream will not resume until the area is deemed safe, but construction on the other side is continuing.

"This isn't the first time that (PennDOT) has (been in) a situation like this," he said. "And, usually, this kind of incident doesn't stop a project."

Don Bowser, assistant maintenance manager at the PennDOT office in Cameron County, believes the situation to be manageable.

"I don't think it's that bad," said Bowser. "If it were, there would have been (HazMat) people on the scene Monday. They would have been coming out of the woodwork."

If the site is contaminated badly and needs additional recovery and remediation efforts, officials worry that the bridge project will be significantly delayed and more taxpayer money will be invested in the site. Work on the south side of the new bridge being built on Route 555 in the Borough of Driftwood, has been stopped until state officials figure out the source of the noxious fumes that were released when workers dug up this spot last Monday.