Universal Studios Studies Site Remediation

Universal Studios began the process of remediating a contaminated site that it plans on acquiring from Lockheed Martin on December 15.

The site has been in use since the late 1950s for missile development. Its groundwater first showed signs of pollution in the early 1980s. The aerospace owner started remediation in 1984.

The contamination stems from six closed landfills on the proposed property purchase. The landfills are said to hold molten metals, solvents and other materials. Other identified pollution sources include launch-testing and hazardous-waste-storage areas. The latter contamination involves 21 toxic metals and industrial solvents, including trichloroethene.

Pumping of the contaminated groundwater for treatment is likely take a few years, according to a geologist with the California's Department of Environmental Protection.

Universal also plans to excavate the old landfills, remove the hazardous waste, and haul off the contaminated soil.

Universal originally planned to buy the 2000 acres from Lockheed Martin in December 1997. The communications conglomerate reportedly has met with California and federal regulators since then for guidance on site cleanup.

Documents filed with the state DEP show Universal has conducted its own studies of the site's contamination in recent months. The studies reportedly identified some previously undiscovered polluted sites of minor significance. Most of the 2000-acre site is not polluted, and Universal could develop those areas while cleaning up the contamination, regulators said.

The previous news item was adapted from a report in the October 23 1998 edition of The Orlando Sentinel.