PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — Sampling and analysis continue in the area around where the Peoples Cartage warehouse fire occurred.
Last month, the warehouse caught fire and smoke billowed into the air at the site. Concern about the situation was so severe that Gov. Patrick Morrisey declared a state of emergency to enable more state resources to deal with the fire and its aftermath.
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) is collaborating with Peoples Cartage, along with other state and federal agencies, to come up with plans to clean up the site, collect samples, and dispose of waste. According to a release from the West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA), personnel have analyzed hundreds of water and soil samples from the area.
After analysis, the WVDA reported that no compounds associated with combustion, smoke, ash, and fire debris have been found in water samples, with low concentrations of some related compounds were found in soil samples. The WVDA noted that the compounds could have come from many different sources, such as wood burning, vehicle emissions, and wildfires, not necessarily the Peoples Cartage warehouse incident.
The WVDA said that while some concentrations in the soil samples exceeded state “de minimus” screening levels, they weren’t above federal action levels. Because of that, the WVDA said, there are no additional measures that need to be taken at the moment.
The state agriculture department also reported that it sampled produce, vegetation, and honey in the area to test for “semi-volatile compounds.” The results of those examinations were that some “residual concentrations of some contaminants” appeared in some samples, but considerably below any levels that would raise health concerns.
The WVDEP reported that the results of the water and soil samples are available online here.