Contamination in Tustin

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A brief update on yesterday’s “toxic plume” story: the reason for the toxic plume beneath Irvine is, largely or in part, the use of solvents by the military to clean aircraft and aircraft parts.
.....Naturally, if that is a problem in Irvine, it should be a problem in Tustin as well, the location of the former Tustin helicopter station.
.....ATEP, the SOCCCD’s technologically-oriented “campus,” sits on that property in a section northwest of one of the old hangers.
.....Is ATEP sitting atop a plume of toxic water? I've done some poking around. The short answer: yes. That doesn't necessarily mean there's a health risk.

.....I came across a September 4, 2003 Irvine World News article (Navy will clean up Tustin helicopter base) that sheds light on the matter:

.....The Navy says it will proceed with a $4.3 million cleanup of a sector of the old Tustin helicopter base contaminated by solvents.
.....Plans call for groundwater containing the solvents to be pumped out and cleaned, and 2,450 cubic yards of polluted soil to be cleansed by cooking the contaminants out.
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.....Plans for the redevelopment of the base along Harvard Avenue at Irvine’s western border call for a road to be built over what is now the contaminated area, but that project won’t begin until the cleaned soil is returned.
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.....The water to be filtered lies under an area of the former Marine Corps base where solvents were dumped for years. The solvents, used to clean helicopters, contaminate an area about 40 feet deep stretching in an arc of several hundred yards.
.....Although the contaminated groundwater is not part of a drinking water aquifer, the solvents eventually will migrate there if not removed or contained.
.....The remediation plan continues and expands a process of pumping out contaminated groundwater, filtering the solvents and allowing the cleaned water to flow down Peters Canyon, where it soaks back into the ground. The Navy said the expanded pumping operation will get under way in 2005.
.....It’s expected to take at least 30 years to clean all the contaminated water.
.....The dirty soil will be hauled away and heated, causing the contaminants to evaporate. Air scrubbers then would capture the contaminants.
.....The freshly baked earth then will be returned to the site, which is northeast of the northernmost blimp hangar. In all, between 125-150 truckloads of soil will be hauled away to be cleaned, enough to cover a football field a foot and a half deep.
.....Tustin officials say the water and soil plan will allow them to proceed with development of a community park and college at the site. Work on those projects could begin in about a year….