A 90-day public comment period on the removal of chemicals from a former industrial soap factory in Lansford has begun, and a public hearing will be held at the Panther Valley School District office at 10 a.m. Jan. 11 if residents ask for it.

The state Department of Environmental Protection is guiding the cleanup of the deteriorating building at 401 W. Bertsch St. The school district bought the building, next to its football stadium, for $800 at a Carbon County tax sale in June.The district has yet to announce what it plans to do with the massive red brick structure.The cleanup work is being done by AECOM of Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County. The company is one of DEP's Hazardous Sites Cleanup Program contractors.AECOM began work on Nov. 30. and completed the inventory, sampling, and staging work at the site on Dec. 3, said DEP spokesman Mark Carmon."There are about 70 drums staged for disposal and separated by hazard class and have been secured and on pallets in the western end of the building," he said. "There was a full drum of hydrofluoric acid and that was overpacked. The other drums contained acids, bases and flammables," he said.According to a legal notice posted by DEP, the "containers were stored in proximity to each other without any secondary containment to prevent the mixing of incompatible chemicals should they leak. Mixing of incompatible chemical could cause a fire and/or an air release that could pose a threat to nearby residential occupants and recreational area users. Although the building has been secured by the school district, the abandoned chemicals present a potential threat and pose a risk to human health and the environment. Sections of the roof of the building have collapsed and further collapse could cause a release of the chemicals and the potential for mixing of incompatible chemicals. Some of the chemicals pose threats from direct contact, toxicity, flammability, or reactivity."Carmon said that "laboratory results from drum samples are due in about a week. The contractor will prepare a Scope of Work and Bid package for the transportation and disposal of the drums, which will be shipped in January or February."Documentation on the cleanup is being kept at the Lansford borough office 26 E. Patterson Street, and is available for review Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The 90-day public comment period began Dec. 4 and ends March 4, 2011.People may submit written comments into the record during this period by sending them to Jeremy Miller, Compliance Specialist, at DEP's Northeast Regional Office at 2 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701, or by delivering them to that office in person. In addition, people may present oral comments, for inclusion in the administrative record, at a public hearing. The testimony at the public hearing will be limited to the prompt interim response, which involves removal and off-site reuse, recycling, and/or disposal of the hazardous substances and waste. An informal public meeting will be held after the public hearing is concluded. People wishing to present testimony at the Jan. 11 hearing should register with Miller before Jan. 4 by telephone at (570) 826-2511, or in writing to Miller at DEP's Northeast Regional Office.If no person registers to present oral comments by the date specified above, the hearing will not be held.