KDHE Home - News 1999 - News Release
Kansas
Department of Health & Environment
Bill Graves, Governor
Clyde D. Graeber, Secretary
For Immediate Release
Contact: Sharon Watson, 785-296-1529
KDHE Responds to Groundwater Concerns
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) is speaking out about concerns over the possible extent of groundwater contamination in the area of the Raytheon Aircraft Company salvage yard one-half mile north of 13th and Greenwich Road in Wichita.
"If there is indeed a risk to the public health, we want to identify it and deal with it,"said KDHE Division of Environment Director Ron Hammerschmidt, PhD. "The potential for contamination beyond the property's boundary is being aggressively investigated."
On November 16, KDHE approved a proposal from Raytheon to install four additional monitoring wells, two each in the northeast and southeast corners of the contaminated site, to better assess possible migration of groundwater contamination from the site. Well installation began on November 18.
Hammerschmidt said it would be several weeks before monitoring results would be available from the new wells.
As required under a 1995 consent order administered by KDHE, Raytheon continues to monitor chlorinated solvents in the groundwater at the property. The company must also submit quarterly reports of these monitoring results to KDHE.
To date, the company has conducted a passive soil gas survey, collected background surface soil samples, installed 44 monitoring wells, conducted a geophysical survey, performed a soil vapor test, drilled ten soil borings, performed five slug tests, conducted natural attenuation analysis, and installed shallow vent wells.
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