Lately, in Corinna...

July 7, 2000
  

As the digging of contaminated soil began on Wednesday, this man stood near the work area running a real-time, air quality monitoring device. He sampled the air to determine the levels of contamination released.  

When the soil containing the contamination was disturbed by digging, a smell was released into the air. I could smell it Wednesday. It was that familiar smell I remember from years ago when the mill was running.

In addition to the real-time monitoring, they will be using devices like the one you see here to continually sample the air and test for chemicals. Eight of these canisters will be placed around the work site. Each one is a vacuum chamber that slowly fills through the day. Each day the samples will be taken back to the lab in the Thurston House for analysis. 

If the quantity of contamination in the air goes above safe levels, steps will be taken to reduce it. The work might slow down or stop. They even have a foam generator ready that can cover a work area with foam to stop the chemical release.