Unalaska, AK – The city of Unalaska has accepted a $1.96 million settlement from the federal government over PCB contamination.

The settlement is the result of a five-year process that began when the city discovered that the site of the new powerhouse was contaminated with PCBs - or polychlorinated biphenyls. PCBs are toxic compounds that can cause liver damage, skin lesions, and cognitive impairment. The Environmental Protection Agency requires PCB-contaminated sites to be cleaned up if the compound is present in greater amounts than one part per million. Soil at the new powerhouse site contained concentrations up to 700 parts per million.

The type of PCB found on the site is called Arclor 1260, and it was only produced during World War II. Because of this, the city attempted to involve the Department of Defense in the clean-up process, says City Manager Chris Hladick.

"We included the Department of Defense and the Corps of Engineers in our planning process. We asked them to participate in the planning process and the decisions that we made," says Hladick. "They declined and wrote several letters to us saying they had no responsibility for the PCBs in Unalaska."

While the clean-up was expected to cost $500,000 initially, the total cost amounted to $3.2 million. Approximately 2,500 cubic yards of contaminated soil was sent to a hazardous waste landfill off the island.

In April 2009, the city sued the Department of Defense for $4 million, which would cover the full cost of the cleanup. The Department then responded with an offer of $600,000 in June. The city found that amount to be unacceptable, and the city and the Department of Defense went into mediation this December and agreed upon a settlement of $1.96 million. On Tuesday, city council approved of the settlement unanimously.

Hladick says that the decision to sue the federal government was a tough one, but that there was no other recourse.

"There's no mechanism through FUDS -- the Formerly Used Defense Site agency - to fund a PCB cleanup without going to court."

At present, the city is not aware of any other PCB-contaminated sites in Unalaska.