Escondido

Workers probing for buried hazardous materials at the Chatham Brothers toxic waste site have uncovered underground pockets of black, molasses-like sludge as well as seven barrels, including one which contained an unknown sludge material, it was announced Tuesday by San Diego County Supervisor Paul Eckert’s office.

The barrels--three 55-gallon drums and four 35-gallon drums--were uncovered by a back hoe which dug four separate six-foot-deep trenches on the property to determine if hazardous materials had been burried, said Eckert spokesman Chris Irwin.

The sludge material was taken to a laboratory for analysis. The other six were either empty or contained what appeared to be rainwater, Irwin said. The seven barrels appeared to have been crushed before being buried, he said.

Drilling of wells to sample underground water would begin Thursday, Irwin added.

The six-acre site, in the 2200 block of Bernardo Avenue, was identified in 1981 as a hazardous waste site. Work began last week to determine the extent and type of ground contamination in order to plan cleanup at the site.