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1993-05-03
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PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. (818) 354-5011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJanuary 7, 1991
As part of a continuing process to locate and
investigate possible sites of contamination, the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory has uncovered and demolished an aged dilution chamber
that was part of a storm drain system used more than 30 years ago.
Several weeks ago, a construction crew discovered the old
storm drain system while repaving a road in the eastern portion of
the Laboratory near the arroyo. The chamber contained liquid and
a black, sandy sludge material.
Analysis of the sludge revealed traces of carbon
tetrachloride (13,400 parts per million) and lesser amounts of
other solvents, metals. Trace cyanide was measured at 0.5 parts
per million. The removal and disposal of all the waste material
was handled according to federal, state and local requirements.
Once workers removed the dilution chamber they discovered
an even older seepage pit underneath it. This seepage pit is
believed to be one of 35 possible contamination sites in the area
round the Laboratory that JPL officials have identified for future
investigation. All new construction sites at JPL are routinely
examined for possible signs of contamination. Seepage pits were
used to dispose of a variety of material during the 1940s and 1950s
when JPL was a U.S. Army ballistic missile facility.
Last year, JPL contributed $1.125 million to the City of
Pasadena for the construction of a temporary treatment plant that
will decontaminate four water wells in the arroyo.
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#1341
MAH 1/4/91