Wichita TCE and PCE Contamination Set for Cleanup

By: Duane Craig

Twenty-four years after being discovered, contamination in Wichita, Kan., is nearing a cleanup stage, according to an article in The Wichita Eagle. The property is at 250 N. St. Francis where there used to be a Coleman manufacturing plant.

The contaminants include tetrachloroethene, or PCE, and trichloroethene, or TCE, both well known names in the annals of environmental contamination. The groundwater and soil are both contaminated with the substances. Whoever does the cleanup will remove groundwater and use an air stripping process to deal with the TCE and PCE. Some areas will be capped to prevent water from moving through contaminated soils. Over the long term, there will be groundwater monitoring through monitoring wells while the land will be zoned to minimize human activities that would lead to unacceptable exposure.