EPA OAKLAND SOUTH PRESCOTT LEAD REMEDIATION PROJECT
MONTHLY STATUS REPORT
JUNE 1 – JUNE 30, 2011
Prepared By: Tony Diamantidis, Senior Project Manager, SFS Chemical Safety, Inc.
Reviewed By: Maggie O’Donnell, President, SFS Chemical Safety, Inc.
This is the monthly status report on the EPA Oakland South Prescott Lead Remediation Project
for June 2011. Following is a list of events and accomplishments during the month:
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The EPA Community Field Office was fully mobilized
Security and Alarm Systems were installed
Guard Station Was Installed
Second Port-a-potty was delivered to the field office
Guard Security has been on-site 24/7 since April 25th. Security was reduced to evenings
and weekends.
Took delivery of Electric Truck from local (Alameda, CA) supplier
Took delivery of custom trailer with water tank for remediation sites
Electric Gate was completed
Neighboring businesses, California Soda Company and Cable Moore Company have both
continued being helpful and supportive of the project. California Soda has been storing
10 tons of Apatite II, the fish bone product being used for remediation at its facility.
Cable Moore agreed to rent a portion of their property, which is adjacent to the field
office for storage and staging of equipment and materials for the remediation project.
Cable Moore has also provided water to the project.
A Conex changing station was obtained and outfitted with lockers, a refrigerator and
microwave for the field personnel’s use.
A bi-directional meter was installed by PG&E under PGE’s net metering system. This
allows power from the field office’s solar system to be connected to the PG&E electric
grid. Excess power generated from solar is sent to the grid and retrieved as needed
(During evenings and cloudy/foggy days).
Project Health and Safety Plan has been finalized
The EMS Work Order system and web portal were updated regularly through the course
of the month.
Chemical Safety submitted a daily rate request to EPA for the equipment being utilized
for the project
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Last month Steve Calanog arranged a meeting and introduced Chemical Safety to the
Cypress Mandela Job Training Center. As a result of this introduction, Chemical Safety
hired directly, and through its subcontractor RC Group 5 individuals from CypressMandela to work on the project. An additional Cypress-Mandela graduate was hired to
complete a mural at the field office site.
A local Web Designer was hired by Chemical Safety to work on updating the various
project related websites
A high-school intern was also hired to update the Community website
Baseline Medical monitoring was conducted for all Field personnel
A local landscape architecture company was hired to install a bamboo screen at the field
office site. This installation included preparation and staging of mobile totes with help
from project labor. A watering system was also installed.
The Project Management Plan was completed.
A local landscape company was hired to create draft restoration plans for the demo
sites being remediated. The same company also designed demonstration plants and
raised planter boxes for the field office site.
Delta Bluegrass Company provided the materials (planter beds) and specialty sod that
was installed at the field office site.
The US Coast guard provided a full-time Safety Office who has been onsite at the field
office and provides daily safety training session for the field workers.
The entire field team participated in rototiller training on June 15th.
A forklift was sourced from a local supplier and delivered on site
Erwin Laus received forklift training on June 27th.
On June 25th, the field office was opened for the first community open house.
Contractor and personnel were introduced to community members, and local
community leaders as well as government officials visited the site. The overall
impression by visitors was very positive, and local residents were encouraged with the
efforts of the EPA and to some extent surprised at the speed of progress of the project.
Meetings were held with local artists to determine the best messaging for the
community and a muralist was hired to design and a mural for the field office site.
On June 22nd, cleanup of the first demonstration plot, located at 533 Henry Street, was
started. The first portion of the process included surveying and recording the condition
of the site, staging equipment and materials for the remediation phase of the project
and cleaning the property of debris and obstructions that could be hazardous.
As the work moved into the remediation phase, several issues were identified and were
dealt with.
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First, it was discovered that the site was an old junkyard, and a neighbor
informed us that remediation work had been done by the California State
DTSC. In order to determine any potential hazards at the site, Vic Johnson,
project environmental engineer visited with the State DTSC and learned that
the remediation work performed at the adjacent property was a lead
removal action, thus no additional safety training or equipment was required
for the field personnel.
After the property was readied for the remediation phase, the Apatite II
material was delivered on site. There are numerous considerations on the
best way to transport and distribute the material that is stored in one ton
super sacks, and the project’s engineering personnel is working on a longterm solution for this, possibly using a hopper to load and release Apatite as
needed.
The Apatite product has a significant dust generation and odor issue. The
EPA and contractor had numerous meetings and have been testing various
solutions to minimize the impact of both of those issues.
Conclusion: This has been the most important month yet for the project, as local labor was
hired as guided by the goals of the project, the Community Field Office was opened to the
community, and remediation work began on the first demonstration plot. Given that this is a
new process for everyone involved, activities and plans are evolving to come up with the most
efficient and effective methods to continue and complete the work successfully. Safety for the
workers and the community, as well as constant feedback and communication with the
community are being emphasized.