The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board recently posted notice of a proposed soil cleanup plan at 901 S. California Ave. (near Cornell St.), which is the current location of Merck & Co. in the Stanford Research Park.

Soil, soil vapor, and ground water sampling at the site detected tetrachloroethene (PCE) above environmental screening levels. PCE is a commonly used solvent in the electronics industry and electronic companies operated at this site (prior to Merck) in the 1960s and 1970s.

The proposed soil cleanup plan is to excavate the affected soil and use trucks to remove it for offsite disposal. The plan anticipates the cleanup will take four to six weeks, during which time several trucks per hour will be used to remove the soil and bring in clean fill.

The public is invited to provide comments on the proposed cleanup plan by emailing Regional Water Board case manager Madeleine Little at madeleine.little@waterboards.ca.gov by August 16, 2019.

(Note: there is a broken link within the water board’s notice. Instead, you can click here to reach the summary page for this case, and then select “Site Maps / Documents” in the horizontal bar above the case summary to access specific documentation.)

We encourage any residents who have questions about the cleanup to submit comments before the August 16 deadline.