DID YOU KNOW

There is a third-party technical advisor for the Ascon project as a resource for the community. The Ascon project funded a third-party technical advisor beginning in 2019, as an independent resource to help residents understand the science behind technical aspects of the cleanup.

The technical advisor, Andrew Cherene, is managed by the City of Huntington Beach and is independent of DTSC and the Ascon project. The community can contact the advisor directly with questions about Ascon at [email protected] or via City staff liaison Tom Herbel at 714-375-5077.

city of huntington beach ascon web page

SITEWIDE ACTIVITIES

  • MAINTENANCE: Regular maintenance will be conducted within the Site and around the perimeter fence areas, including onsite activity regarding maintenance of stormwater management measures.

  • SITEWIDE ODOR ASSESSMENT: Field investigations will continue through April, with regular visits by DTSC to observe the work.

    • Work will be conducted between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, with personnel arriving earlier.

    You may see: Workers, materials and small equipment needed to conduct soil vapor sampling.

  • PIT F TENT MAINTENANCE AND PREPARATION: Workers are conducting maintenance on the large white tent on the east side of Ascon near Magnolia Street and are installing equipment required for future remedial work inside the tent, such as the air handling and treatment system.

    You may see: Workers, materials and large equipment like manlifts, stormwater management materials and water trucks may be arriving or being removed from the Site. This includes turning on equipment like the air treatment system for operational checks. You may hear periodic sounds, like vehicle backup signaling required for worker safety, and sounds from air treatment system testing. There is no remedial excavation work occurring during this time.

  • SECURITY: 24-hour onsite security continues. Security are not always visible at the entrance gates. The Ascon security personnel are primarily within the Site conducting daytime and nighttime patrols of the 38-acre property. In addition to 24/7 onsite security, there are regular visits by air quality technicians, Site inspectors and Site maintenance personnel.

  • INSPECTIONS:

    • DTSC continues its ongoing weekly inspections of Ascon.
    • Semi-annual groundwater monitoring was conducted on Friday, March 26, including at offsite monitoring well locations in the community both north and east of Ascon. This is routine sampling with field professionals briefly opening dedicated monitoring wells to conduct sampling, and sampling results are provided to DTSC.
    • City of Huntington Beach continues its regular stormwater inspections of Ascon.
    • Regular inspection of the “Pit F” tent will be conducted.
    • Regular inspections are conducted by Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District of the onsite detention basins and other areas of the Ascon Site where water may be detained.

  • NEARBY ACTIVITIES: Please note there are activities unrelated to Ascon at the former tank farm property, south of Ascon and adjacent to Magnolia Street.

AIR MONITORING

Air monitoring continues both on the Ascon Site and at community locations, which includes dust data at upwind and downwind monitoring stations on the Ascon site documenting effective dust control measures.

For more information about Ascon’s air monitoring and data sharing, please visit the Actively Monitoring Air Quality page on this website. Data is submitted to DTSC and shared on their online document archive, Envirostor. To view archived air monitoring results posted by DTSC on Envirostor, click on “Community Involvement Documents” and scroll to “Updates and Information.”

SAFETY MESSAGE

Work at Ascon is being conducted under Site safety protocols regarding COVID-19. These practices apply to air quality professionals and other team members who may be outside the fence conducting work. We ask for the community’s support of these safety practices by maintaining physical distancing to allow these professionals to focus on their work and stay safe.

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