The owners of a former dry cleaning business in Carson City are working to clean up a hazardous chemical spill under the building, according to the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection.
The Uramoto family will submit a plan within 90 days on how it will clean up the spill under the former Mercury Cleaners at 217 S. Curry St., said Jill Lufrano, NDEP representative.
The Carson City Redevelopment Authority Citizens Committee will talk about ways to help with the spill at its meeting Monday.
The chemical, tetrachloroethylene, is used in dry cleaning. High exposure to it can cause sickness and death. NDEP is investigating 28 sites in the Las Vegas Valley alone.
The amount of chemical under the building is unknown, but the concentration is more than four times allowed by the environmental division, Lufrano said.
"It's definitely a concern," she said.
It's not clear how much it will cost to clean up the site, according to the division and the city.
The phone number for the president of Mercury Cleaners, Mitsue Uramoto, is not listed.
The chemical, also known as perchloroethylene, or PCE, has contaminated the soil and groundwater under the building, according to a September report to the division by McGinley & Associates, a Nevada environmental consultant.
The consultant reported that with the chemical under Mercury Cleaners "the potential exists for migration of PCE vapors into indoor spaces."
The chemical can become a vapor when it hits water.
Carson City is looking for state and federal funds to help clean up the property, said Joe McCarthy, city business development director.
The property could be a good opportunity for downtown business if the spill is cleaned up, he said.
"It's a present concern that if we, meaning all the parties involved, don't address this concern it's not going to get any better," he said.
WHAT: Carson City Redevelopment Authority Citizens Committee
WHEN: 6 p.m. Monday
WHERE: Carson City Community Center, Sierra Room, 851 E. William St.
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