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What: Riverside City Council work session
When: 5 p.m. Thursday
Where: Riverside Municipal Building, 1791 Harshman Road
The Environmental Protection Agency’s investigation of vapor intrusion in a Riverside neighborhood has expanded to about 350 homes, according to an EPA official.
The agency continues to collect air samples from homes in the Avondale community to determine how serious vapor intrusion is for homeowners, but additional groundwater sampling determined the investigation needs to be extended, said Steve Renninger, on-scene coordinator for the EPA’s Region 5 in Cincinnati.
The sampling has been expanded to the Forest Home Avenue, Prince Albert Boulevard, Broadmead Boulevard and Warrendale Avenue areas. The primary area of concern is bordered by Guernsey Dell Avenue, Minnesota Drive, Hypathia Avenue, Rohrer Boulevard and Valley Pike.
Finding the exact source of the contamination is still under investigation, Renninger said. He previously said the source likely is located about 800 to 1,000 feet east of Hypathia Avenue and moving southwest, parallel to Valley Pike.
“The groundwater is moving, so it’s always possible (the sampling area could be extended further),” Renninger said.
Renninger is scheduled to make a presentation to City Council Thursday night during a work session. The EPA has scheduled a public meeting July 16 at Stebbins High School, Renninger said.
Renninger said 180 homes have been tested, and 70 of them met the requirements to have a mitigation system installed. Thirty-five systems have been installed and appointments are scheduled out at least through July, he said.
Resampling will take place this summer because most of the initial sampling was done over the winter, Renninger said. Sampling takes 24 hours.
The sampling and mitigation installation are at no cost to the homeowner. It costs the EPA $1,000 for the sampling and $5,000 to install the mitigation system. A mitigation system costs a homeowner about $75 a year in electric expenses, Renninger said.
The fan in the mitigation system comes with a five-year warranty, and the homeowner is responsible for any repairs once the warranty expires.
“The system needs to run until the groundwater is cleaned up,” Renninger said.
An investigation started last summer after the EPA conducted groundwater sampling in the area and discovered an above screening level presence of TCE (Trichloroethylene) and PCE (Tetrachloroethylene).
Symptoms of breathing high levels of TCE and PCE include headaches, lung irritation, sleepiness, poor coordination and difficulty concentrating, nausea and in some cases, death.
Riverside deputy mayor Steve Fullenkamp said there are homeowners who declined to have their homes tested, and he hopes they reconsider.
“The EPA has been responsive and respectful of what these people need,” Fullenkamp said.
Will Morgan Jr., who lives on Bushnell Avenue, is concerned about property values declining and future vapor intrusion into homes that are currently below screening levels.
He has not had a mitigation system installed because his home tested below screening levels earlier this year. But he plans to get his home tested again in July.
“We’re playing it one day at a time,” said Morgan, whose house is on a slab. “We want to double-check it and stay on top of it.”
Residents raised questions and concerns at a public meeting in December, mostly about their health and property values.
Vapor intrusion occurs when underground pollutants give off dangerous gases that can rise up through the soil and seep into buildings through foundation cracks and holes, causing unsafe indoor air pollution, according to the EPA.
The drinking water is not impacted by these site conditions, according to the EPA. The drinking water comes from the city of Dayton’s public water supply.
The EPA has a local office at 2049 Harshman Road that is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. Scheduling for sampling and mitigation installment is done at the office, which can be reached by calling 937-237-7530.
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