Pennsylvania Power & Light Co. will test soil samples for oil contamination at the former Old Forge electrical substation at Railroad Street and Jones Court.
Work is scheduled to begin April 7 and is expected to last two to three weeks.
"The assessment will consist of collecting about 500 to 600 samples from various depths at the site," said Rich Beasley, PP&L's community development director in the Scranton area. "We will screen the samples to see if there is any PCB contamination at the location that exceeds state environmental standards."
At one time, insulating oil in electrical substation equipment contained polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. During the time that the Old Forge substation operated, some of this oil from electrical equipment is known to have spilled at the site. The spills were cleaned according to the environmental standards of the time. Since then, better methods to detect soil PCB contamination were developed and regulations are stricter.
"PP&L is working together with the state Department of Environmental Protection to assess the Old Forge substation to see if it meets current standards," Beasley said. "If we find areas that exceed current standards, PP&L will clean up the site.
"PP&L has made a corporate environmental commitment to work in conjunction with the state environmental agency to investigate our properties and, if necessary, to clean them," Beasley said. "This is the first phase of work at Old Forge. We are doing this work because we know there were spills at the location."
Work hours will be Monday to Friday from about 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A mobile laboratory will be brought to the location. A backhoe will be used to collect some samples on PP&L property. Parking for workers will be in the lot across the street from the former substation.
"If access is available and granted, we also would like to test some areas just outside the fence location on neighboring property," Beasley said. "We have been keeping borough officials informed of this project. It's also our intention to keep the neighbors informed about the sampling results and if any further cleanup of the property is needed."