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Borough, contractor say school remains open while remediation, permanent vapor system planned after Point Higgins diesel spill
Summary
Ketchikan Gateway Borough and contractor Nortek Environmental reported removal of contaminated soil and repeated indoor-air monitoring after a late‑August diesel release at a school. Officials say occupied areas currently test well below their action threshold while a permanent vapor barrier and extraction system are planned and out for bid.
KETCHIKAN — Borough and contractor officials told the Ketchikan Gateway Borough School Board on Jan. 28 that response work to a diesel release near a school in late August 2025 has removed contaminated soil, produced laboratory results, and established plans to reduce vapor intrusion beneath the building.
Morgan Berry, Ketchikan Gateway Borough public works director, introduced Jason Ginter of Nortek Environmental, who described site cleanup and indoor-air monitoring. Ginter said crews "have done a fair amount of work at the school," including removal and offsite shipment of contaminated soils and construction of a temporary fuel-collection pond made of sandbags and an underflow dam to capture diesel that emerges after heavy rains.
Ginter said the team has removed "over 400 cubic yards of contaminated soil" from the collection area north of the school and completed two batches of laboratory sampling for indoor-air contaminants. He said one soils/air report has been…
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