(December 16, 2011) – Starting next week, the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) will install a thermal remedial system at a former SHA property in Talbot County.  Work is taking place on the one-half acre commercial site adjacent to US 50 to remove an industrial solvent – trichloroethylene (TCE) - that was used for asphalt testing in the 1960s and 1970s. 

The property, located at 7857 Ocean Gateway (US 50), was purchased by SHA in 1963 and converted from an auto repair shop into a regional laboratory.  The SHA lab was moved in 1988 to its current location at 8204 Elliott Road in Easton.  The building that housed the original lab was demolished in 2006/2007 and the former groundwater treatment system was also removed. 

Thermal remediation involves applying underground electric currents to generate heat within the contaminated area, breaking down the compounds and subsurface collection of steam and other gases.  Within the system, there will be no steam or any organic compounds released into the air at any time during the remediation process.  The process will take approximately six to nine months to complete, and all work should be complete by late summer 2012.   is securing the site with a chain link fence and other security measures so that people cannot inadvertently enter the area, vandalize the system, or become endangered by the electrical equipment or currents.  SHA evaluated several remedial technologies to address TCE mass reduction.  The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) approved the use of this technology in spring 2011.

“This proactive effort is the final phase of testing and monitoring at the site,” said SHA Administrator Melinda B. Peters.  “Projects such as these only reinforce SHA’s commitment to environmental compliance and stewardship, ensuring that we are identifying issues and working to address them.” In recent years, SHA has conducted extensive environmental testing at the site and on the adjoining properties to the north and east.  TCE was detected in the groundwater and this process will substantially reduce the levels on site.

Following completion of the thermal treatment, the property may be sold or reused, but with restrictions prohibiting basements or water supply wells.  After remediation, the mass of TCE will be removed but there will still be residual contamination in the subsurface that is below MDE cleanup standards.  SHA awarded the $1.1 million contract to Sovereign Consulting, Inc. of Robbinsville, NJ. 

The groundwater will be monitored for an estimated five years to ensure effectiveness of the remediation before the site will be officially closed by MDE and the property is ready for sale by SHA.  In 2008, SHA entered into a voluntary agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency to self-audit and conduct environment assessments and disclose violations that might be found. 

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