By Mai Ling Slaughter and John Henderer, The Chronicle, 10/1/99
Contractors excavating what appears to be one of the state's worst environmental contamination sites have unearthed more than 60 barrels of apparently toxic chemicals south of Chehalis.
The barrels represent ''the smoking gun'' for much of the contamination that leached into groundwater, said David Jansen, state Department of Ecology toxic cleanup manager at the site, in a prepared statement.
Pollutants spread unnoticed into neighbors' shallow wells, until groundwater tests in 1993 for a well at a new business nearby found contamination.
In August, scientific radar and magnetic tests located three barrels beneath a building erected over an alleged dump site owned by S.C. Breen Construction Inc.
The discovery prompted additional excavation.
In recent weeks, the find expanded greatly as contractors continued to find more and more barrels, some oozing thick, oily sludge, some containing high levels of apparently toxic chemicals.
''We just kept digging and digging and digging,'' Jansen said.
Ecology and Lewis County Health Division began investigating the site after tests revealed dangerously high levels of perchloroethylene, a suspected cancer-causing solvent in the water.
Groundwater tests at a neighboring home's drinking water revealed contamination as high as 3,740 parts per billion - the highest ever found in the state. The federal maximum level of PCE allowed for safe drinking water is 5 parts per billion.
The state has placed some affected neighbors on bottled water. In one case, at a location where the contamination peaked, Ecology provided the family with a water purification system.
Ecology has since discovered a potent brew of hazardous chemicals at the Breen site, including vinyl chloride, which one expert termed ''considerably more hazardous'' than PCE.
Breen Construction formerly operated a surplus store from the site, accumulating a variety of chemicals at auction, many of which it could not sell later.
Sources told state regulators at the Department of Ecology that sometime in the mid-1980s, someone dug a large pit at the Breen site. Numerous barrels ''disappeared'' that weekend, and the pit was covered.
After that, a building occupied by Bulldog Trailer Manufacturing was erected over the site.
This year, Breen Construction accepted responsibility as a potentially liable party for the contamination.
Ecology's investigation has sought to work backward, to determine the truth of reports about the alleged chemical disposal, and to find the source of contamination.
A second contamination source appears to be concentrated less than a mile south of Breen's property, which sits near the intersection of Labree and Hamilton roads.
Ecology continues to investigate the extent of the pollution, and has not yet started groundwater cleanup work.
Since agreeing to accept some potential liability, Breen has hired GeoEngineers Inc., Tacoma, to investigate.
Under Ecology's supervision, GeoEngineers extracted dozens of barrels from a hole in the floor of the Bulldog building. Much of the work remains out of public view, and Breen officials did not invite journalists from The Chronicle to observe the dig.
One sludge sample from the excavation site found perchloroethylene contamination at 4.6 million parts PCE per billion parts water.
Any lids that may have existed on some of the barrels apparently did not suffice, as workers found some seals had broken and come apart.
''Some of them come out surprisingly intact,'' Jansen said of the 55-gallon drums. ''Some of them came out in pieces.''
While referring to the discovery as ''the smoking gun,'' Jansen acknowledged the second contamination source could play a role in fouling the ground water.
''This is certainly ... not all of the problem,'' Jansen said. ''But it's a big piece of it.''
Breen family members referred calls to their Centralia attorney, Larry Fagerness, who downplayed Ecology's announcement Thursday. Much work in the environmental probe remains undone, he said.
''We feel, basically, that the comments of Mr. Jansen are premature,'' Fagerness said. ''We've done a lot of collection of data and feel there is still a lot of investigation that must be done.''
Workers pulled the last drums out of the ground Monday, placing them and surrounding contaminated soil in protective containers for proper disposal as hazardous materials.
''We wouldn't have stopped if we thought there was more down there,'' Jansen said.
Contractors will continue excavating soils to remove any additional contamination they can find.
In coming weeks, Ecology will examine a site south of the Breen property that also has high levels of PCE.
''We think that they both contribute,'' Jansen said, adding Breen Construction has been ''very cooperative.''
Fagerness said the Breens are pleased Ecology recognizes the other contamination site as a possible contamination source.
Breen has paid for and overseen all investigation since its agreed order with Ecology was signed in July.
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Mai Ling Slaughter can be reached by e-mail at news@chronline.com or by telephoning 807-8237. John Henderer can be reached by e-mail at jhenderer@chronline.com or by calling 807-8239.
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