MONEY

Two dangerous chemicals found underground at Pella Corp.

Kevin Hardy
kmhardy@dmreg.com
Pella Corporation in Pella.

PELLA, Ia. — Pella Corp. inadvertently released two dangerous chemicals into the ground below its door and window-making plant here, a study mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency has concluded.

The years-long study found that the central Iowa manufacturing plant released Pentachlorophenol and dioxin, a toxic byproduct, into the groundwater. The study was a result of a 2010 settlement with the EPA, which required the company to test for 30 different possible sources of contamination.

Only the two chemicals were found to be at higher than acceptable levels. But officials say the contaminants do not threaten the city's drinking water supply, which relies on the Des Moines River and the Jordan aquifer.

"There’s very limited exposure to human health for this," said Jim Nieboer, Pella's engineering manager of environmental, safety and sustainability. "And really, it’s limited to people who work in our buildings and grounds crew who may be digging in our soil periodically planting flowers and tulips."

Each spring, Pella's Tulip Time Festival celebrates the city's rich Dutch heritage with traditional attire, food and hundreds of thousands of blooming tulips.

Mike McCartney works among the lumber yield transport system in the edging aof the lumber plant at Pella Windows in August 2000.

Like many manufacturers, Pella used Pentachlorophenol to treat wood. The company previously stored the chemical in underground tanks, which were removed in 1989. It now uses a proprietary product and stores dangerous chemicals in above-ground tanks and drums.

Pentachlorophenol was largely barred in the 1980s, though it is still used as a preservative for telephone poles and railroad ties.

If inhaled, it can cause coughing, dizziness, headache, breathing difficulty and sore throat, according to the Centers for Disease Control research. If ingested, it can cause stomach cramps, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, weakness and unconsciousness. The CDC has also linked it to a higher risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The World Health Organization describes dioxins as "highly toxic." The byproduct from the manufacturing of Pentachlorophenol can cause reproductive and developmental complications, damage the immune system and cause cancer.

Pella has hired a third party to perform tests on hundreds of soil samples across its campus. Tests found higher-than-acceptable levels of the chemicals in about a dozen samples, Nieboer said.

While some of those were flagged as far 40 feet into the ground, the geology of the area means locals probably have little reason to worry, said Mike Gannon, hydrologist at the Iowa Geological Survey at the University of Iowa.

"It’s probably going to be primarily confined close to that property," he said. "It's really not going anywhere fast. It’s there. It’s in the soil."

Aquifer wells are hundreds of feet below the surface and are unlikely to be contaminated, he said. And with Pella's plant about two miles from the Des Moines River, the contaminants are unlikely to cause concern for those downriver who rely on it for drinking water.

Men work at Pella Corporation, a door and window maker in Pella, in August 2000.

"As long as it’s contained there, and of course Pella Corp. would have control of their property, it probably doesn’t pose much of a health risk," Gannon said.

Having just completed its study, Pella will wait for guidance from the EPA on whether it must remove the chemicals from the ground. Nieboer said that may be possible, but it would likely be a lengthy process.

"It's primarily underneath our manufacturing buildings," he said. "There are ways we can intercept and remove groundwater. Given the clay soils in Iowa, it could be a very long-term process of removal and treatment."

Pella spokeswoman Heidi Farmer said the company knows of no employees who became ill because of the soil. About 2,000 people work at the company's central Iowa location. Concrete floors protect those inside the plant, and the company has put in place precautions for those who may come in contact with the ground.

"To ensure the health and safety of our team members, even with the study complete, Pella is continuing to monitor and test our facility," she said.