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At the suggestion of Mr. Steve Sasson of PHS/EHD, Stockton Mortgage elected to assess the extent <br /> of contamination by utilizing a backhoe to excavate the soil. <br /> EXCAVATION PROCEDURES <br /> Stokeley Construction of Tracy, California was retained to perform the excavation. Excavation took <br /> place on October 31, 1995, and was supervised by Upgradient Environmental. <br /> Upgradient screened the excavated soil with a portable photo-ionization detector to identify <br /> contaminated soil. After approximately 1 hour, the backhoe uncovered a sheet of Visquine at a depth <br /> of approximately 3 feet; this appeared to have been laid in the excavation to separate contaminated <br /> from uncontaminated soil. However, during the first two hours of excavation, only very low PID <br /> concentrations (3-7 ppm) were detected. At the end of this time, the excavation was approximately 7 <br /> feet deep. This non-contaminated soil was stockpiled west of the building. <br /> When the excavation reached a depth of 7 feet, moderate gasoline odors were noted in the <br /> southeastern comer of the excavation, and the backhoe began segregating this soil from the non- <br /> contaminated soil. The contaminated soil was stockpiled west of the excavation. During the next two <br /> hours, PID concentrations increased from 222 ppm to more than 2500 ppm as the depth of the <br /> excavation was increased to 13 feet. A decision was made at that time to discontinue further <br /> excavation and collect one soil sample for laboratory analysis. The sample was collected from the <br /> backhoe bucket, using a percussion slide hammer loaded with brass sample sleeves. One sleeve was <br /> covered with Teflon sheets, capped, and transported in a cooled ice chest to Sequoia Analytical <br /> Laboratories in Sacramento. <br /> The excavation was then backfilled with the non-contaminated stockpile and pea gravel that had been <br /> delivered during the excavation activity. The contaminated stockpile (30 tons, approximately 40 cubic <br /> yards) was transported to REMCO's disposal facility in Richmond, California. Copies of the load <br /> manifests are attached to this report. <br /> EXCAVATION RESULTS <br /> The laboratory analyzed the sample for the presence of gasoline and volatile aromatic hydrocarbons. It <br /> was also analyzed for reactivity, corrosivity, and ignitability per REMCO's request. <br /> As shown in the attached laboratory report, gasoline-range hydrocarbons were detected at a <br /> concentration of 14,000 mg/kg (parts per million). This concentration is approximately twice that <br /> which was detected in the most contaminated sample that was collected during the tank removal in <br /> 1993, at an estimated depth of 5 feet. Fortunately, however, benzene, a known carcinogen, was not <br /> detected. Other volatile compounds were detected at concentrations ranging from 37 mg/kg (toluene) <br /> to 340 mg/kg(xylene). The laboratory described the chromatogram pattern of the sample as typical of <br /> weathered gasoline. <br />