LOUISVILLE, Ky. — This week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is on-site at a Highview home found filled with hazardous chemicals.
City officials said the EPA will help determine if a controlled burn is the best way to dispose of the chemicals inside the home, or if they can be removed manually.
The EPA sweep comes after the city initially said a controlled burn was the "best path forward." Then, at a community meeting, the city said it was discussing alternatives with the EPA.
Louisville Metro Emergency Services Executive Director Jody Meiman said the city always intended to work in tandem with the EPA, but the request and approval process to get personnel to Louisville took a few days.
"We've mentioned all along that we're working in parallel paths, still with the mentality that we could have to burn the house, and with the mentality that it could still be cleaned up," he said. "We don't want to take our foot off the gas with our planning in case we do have to burn it so we aren't behind and if that's the case we could do it as quickly and safely as possible."
According to an affidavit, the home, owned by Marc Hibel, had "gallons and tens of gallons" of more than 20 different chemicals which included "primary and secondary explosives."
The home was also filled with so much junk and debris, the city believed it was too dangerous to remove the chemicals by hand.
Meiman said bringing in the EPA adds a different set of skills to the mix.
"They're a federal clean-up contractor that has similar situations that they've dealt with before," he said. "When we have any type of large hazardous materials incident in the area it could be a federal contractor from the EPA that's recommended to come clean that up anyway."
On Monday, EPA personnel went inside the home to inspect and assess it.
"They are running some tests. They're not moving any bottles or opening any bottles or anything like that," Meiman said. "They're performing some tests and they're going to take it back to their labs, it's going to be a couple of days before they get anything."
Meiman said the EPA will only be here for a couple of days. It could take several days more before they get results and make a determination of the best path forward.
Meiman said if they determine the home can be cleared by hand, it could be several weeks before the work is completed.
Still, he said the home is considered secure right now.
"Right now we feel like it's stable. Even leaving today we'll make sure the house is stable and closed up," Meiman said. "It's more stable than it was before we got in there."
If a controlled burn is determined to be the best course of action, the city has already said it would not happen this week.
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