COSTA MESA : State Files Claim in Soil Contamination

The state Department of Health Services has filed claims against Metropolitan Circuits Inc. and its former property owner to recover the costs of testing soil and ground water for possible contamination by toxic metals.

Allan Hirsch, a health department spokesman, said the state filed the claims after the company began Chapter 11 proceedings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, which will give the firm time to reorganize its finances and pay its debts.

Testing for soil contamination continued this week when workers dug 12 soil borings and two additional ground-water wells at 1267 Logan Ave., Metropolitan’s former location. Since 1984, the site has been occupied by Velie Circuits Inc., which is conducting the tests under state guidance.

It has been almost 10 years since contamination was discovered in the soil. The site has been on the state’s priority list for cleanup since 1984. However, the effort has been delayed because of a number of factors.

Among other things, consultants for Metropolitan Circuits began removing contaminated soil in 1985, but the digging was stopped when they discovered that the contamination went deeper than earlier tests indicated.

Representatives of Metropolitan Circuits declined to comment on the testing. The former owner of the site is Bruce Thabit, an attorney in Encino. He could not be reached for comment.

The new samples will be taken at various depths to determine the extent of the contamination, Hirsch said. Four more borings will be done in January.

Hirsch said Velie Circuits still is considered a possible source of some of the contamination. But because the

company is already testing the site, the state decided against filing a similar claim against Velie for future costs.

“We have filed noncompliance determinations which could allow us at a future time to recoup our loss,” Hirsch said. “By taking the lead and working with us on the site, Velie has spared itself.”

Velie is scheduled to file a timetable for the cleanup with the state in January, Hirsch said. Costs estimates will be included in a feasibility study.

The state has also filed a claim against the remaining assets of Metropolitan Circuits to recover administrative costs and future expenses for investigating and cleaning up the site, Hirsch said.