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As reported in our letter to you on February 16 , 1988 we experienced a small spill of hexavalent chromium on February 9th. We are continuing daily monitoring of our furnace basement sumps for hexavalent chromium until our continuous analyzer arrives . On February 25 , we detected 0 . 07 mg/l in the north and south combined sumps sample . A check on the north and south sumps independently, revealed 0 . 08 mg/l and <0 . 05 mg/1 , respectively. Water from both sumps was diverted back into the recycle water system until the water was clear of hexavalent chromium. The water from the north sump flows to the south sump before entering the plant sewer system. A search for the origin of the chromium revealed that a fluctuation in the groundwater infiltration water had leached out residual chromium in solid material on the tank basement floor and flowed into the north sump. This solid material appears to be contaminated from the spill of February 9 . Our plan is to remove this solid material in conjunction with other basement improvements designed to reduce the flow of infiltration water and handle potential spills more effectively. At no time did the discharge water rise above <0 . 05 mg/l . In addition to the hexavalent chromium data included in this month' s report, please find fluoride data as required by our amended discharge permit. Although we have not started full production using the hydrofluoric acid washer process we nonetheless have operated the washer intermittently as a part of it' s break-in process . In order to provide as much data possible for the Board to consider in it' s proposed revision of our monitoring program we have collected a large number of samples during this break-in period. We will continue to collect additional samples until we fully understand the flow and concentration characteristics of the process. We would like to claim confidentiality for the data given in this report which refers to production from this facility. The information given here is known only to a few individuals within Libbey Owens Ford Co. and gives LOF an opportunity to obtain a business advantage over competitors who do not have or know or use such information. Under rules set forth in the Clean Water Act, we claim this information as a Trade Secret. If there are any questions or concerns regarding this data please do not hesitate to call Ron Quick at ( 209 ) 858-5151 . very truly yours , James A. Meyer Plant Manager Plant #10 JAM: rq