Contaminated Soil to Be Trucked Out of Northrop Site

About 200 tons of dirt contaminated with toxic industrial solvents will be removed next week from the Newbury Park plant of Northrop Corp., a Ventura County Environmental Health Department official said Wednesday.

The dirt surrounds a site where four of five aging storage tanks were found to have leaked several toxic substances, including methyl ethyl ketone and trichloroethane, said Jeff Heath, a county hazardous materials specialist. Northrop discovered the contamination in early May.

Testing of some soil samples found that the solvents constituted 3% of the soil, Heath said.

Heath said there has been some contamination of ground water within 200 feet of the former tank site, and further drilling at the site and in surrounding areas will be conducted to determine if there has been any more leaching. Heath said tests have found no contamination of a nearby drinking-water well.

The contaminated dirt, which could fill 10 to 15 truckloads, will be hauled to a hazardous materials disposal site, probably in Santa Barbara County, Heath said. The resulting ditches at Northrop will be lined with plastic and filled with fresh soil.