Today, our local EPA officials published a fact sheet regarding the latest news of a potential chemical contamination in buildings at the Bannister Federal Complex. The affected buildings are separate from the facilities for the Kansas City Plant, which manufactures non-nuclear parts for nuclear weapons. One building is causing particular concern because it houses a day care on the General Services Administration's site.
Trichloroethylene (TCE), according to the EPA, is one of the known environmental contaminants discovered in the GSA buildings. It's a solvent used in adhesives, paints, varnishes, paint strippers, pesticides, lubricants, and cleaners. Another chemical known to be present at the site is perchloroethylene, used in dry cleaning.
According to the fact sheet, the EPA is currently firming up its
testing protocols and plans to hire a contractor to carry out the
following tests: indoor air sampling and analysis, testing of soil
gases, vapor intrusion
testing and outdoor air sampling and analysis. They say they'll share
the results in a to-be-scheduled public meeting and on their Web site.
Also today, the City Council was expected to vote on an ordinance regarding the Kansas City Plant's plans to move
from the Bannister site to a new facility to be built near Highway 150
and Botts Road. The vote on that ordinance was postponed. Russ Ptacek, whose reports on the Bannister contamination for NBC Action News
seems to have accelerated the government's response, reports that the
delay in the City Council's vote has nothing to do with the recent
media attention on the subject.
Can I get a "Yeah, right"?
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