Final Cleanup and Reimbursement Agreement for Decades-old Contamination from Closed DuPage Factory Attorney General Lisa Madigan, along with federal officials, recently announced an agreement that clears the way for the cleanup of two remaining sites in DuPage County contaminated decades ago by radioactive waste from a closed West Chicago factory. Meanwhile, cleanup is all but complete at two other locations. All four areas were designated in the early 1990s as federal Superfund sites. Madigan, on behalf of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), joined the federal government today in filing a complaint and settlement documents in federal court. “This agreement is truly the result of federal, state and local governments and entities working together to ensure that these sites that once were contaminated are going to become safe as neighborhoods and a park.” Madigan said. “On behalf of the state, I will work to ensure that the damaged areas are restored.” Under the agreement, Kerr-McGee Chemical, LLC, of Delaware has been ordered to reimburse the State of Illinois for up to $100,000 for reviewing and overseeing the restoration plans at the two remaining cleanup sites. The sites include approximately eight miles of Kress Creek and the West Branch of the DuPage River and the West Chicago sewage treatment plant. Under the settlement, Kerr-McGee also will pay $200,000 to the U.S. Department of Interior to fund restoration at both sites once contaminated soil is removed and other cleanup work is completed. Madigan said activity in the contaminated areas has a long history. Beginning in 1932, Lindsay Light and Chemical Company used a facility at 248 Ann St., West Chicago, to extract thorium from ore for use in coating gas light mantels, which enables the mantels to glow and provide illumination. In 1967, Kerr-McGee purchased the Rare Earths Facility (REF) in West Chicago and continued thorium production until it closed the plant in 1973. Madigan’s complaint alleges that as a result of these operations, radioactive mill tailings containing thorium, radium and uranium were produced and contaminated the sites. The mill tailings are discarded materials from the extraction process and, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), contained radionuclides, hazardous substances that can threaten surface and groundwater, fish, migratory birds, sediments, habitat and vegetation. Madigan and the federal government allege that mill tailings were transported and disposed of in four areas: a present-day residential area in West Chicago; Reed-Keppler Park, a 100-acre community park in West Chicago; Kress Creek and the West Branch of the DuPage River; and the West Chicago sewage treatment plant. While the U.S. EPA is the lead agency overseeing Kerr-McGee’s cleanup of Kress Creek and the West Branch of the DuPage River and the sewage treatment
plant, Madigan’s suit seeks to recover taxpayers’ costs incurred in response to the release of radionuclides during cleanup. The suit also seeks monetary compensation for damages to natural resources caused by the cleanup of the contamination at the four sites allegedly caused by Rare Earths Facility. Beginning in 1994, the U.S. EPA ordered cleanup at the four sites contaminated by the Rare Earths Facility. Madigan said cleanup at the residential site in West Chicago and Reed-Keppler Park is essentially complete. Results of the cleanup of those sites to date include: Kerr-McGee funded the cleanup on 676 properties where 110,782 cubic yards of radioactive soil were removed from a residential area of West Chicago that is home to approximately 15,000 people. According to U.S. EPA, the area was contaminated when mill tailings were made available to residents and contractors for use as fill material before the health risks associated with their radioactivity were known. Cleanup has been completed in a portion of ReedKeppler Park contaminated by mill tailings that were dumped in an area that was formerly a city dump long before the area became a park. Kerr-McGee oversaw the removal of 114,652 cubic yards of radioactive contaminated materials. The order requires that Kerr-McGee complete the process and fund the cleanup of the remaining two Superfund sites under the direction of the U.S. EPA. Results to date include: Since cleanup began in October 2003 at the West Chicago sewage treatment plant site, 6,281 cubic yards of material has been removed. Approximately 15,000 people live within three miles of the site, which was contaminated when mill tailings were used as fill in the area or disposed of at the facility. The site also includes contamination of a 1.2 mile section of the West Branch of the DuPage River from radioactive soils at the facility or on the riverbank. While a remedial investigation/feasibility study on the extent of contamination at Kress Creek and the sewage treatment plant has been completed, contaminated materials that were carried by a storm sewer into nearby Kress Creek and from there, downstream to the West Branch of the DuPage River, have not yet been cleaned up but will be as part of the agreement. Approximately 20,000 people live within three miles of the site; however, drinking water in the area comes from public systems or private wells that were not impacted by the contamination. Kerr-McGee has shipped all radioactive materials excavated at the sites by rail to a Utah disposal facility licensed to accept hazardous materials. The Office of the Illinois Attorney General was instrumental in ensuring these materials were shipped out of state. Senior Assistant Attorney General Gerald Karr of Madigan’s Environmental Bureau is handling the case filed recently in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
Settlement in Cook County Asbestos Case; Complaint Filed in Another In April 2005, Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced her office had reached an agreement with the owner of an Evanston apartment building for alleged asbestos handling and removal violations in September 2003. Meanwhile, Madigan has filed a complaint for similar alleged violations at another Cook County location in an unrelated case involving another apartment owner and contractor. Without admitting wrongdoing, Forest Lee, LLC, 440 N. Wells St., Chicago, has paid a civil penalty of $42,500 to resolve a December 2004 complaint filed by Madigan for alleged air pollution and failure to follow emission control and disposal procedures at a four-story apartment building at 937-939 Forest Ave. and 232-240 Lee Ave. in Evanston. The owner also was cited for failure to inspect for asbestos-containing materials and to notify the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) prior to renovation work starting at the L-shaped building that houses 21 apartments. In addition to the civil penalty, in September 2003, Forest Lee paid to clean up and remediate the site. Assistant Attorney General Stephen Sylvester handled the settlement that was entered Monday, April 4, in Cook County Circuit Court for Madigan’s Environmental Bureau. The IEPA referred the case to Madigan’s Office in August 2004. Also in April of this year, Madigan filed a complaint with the Illinois Pollution Control Board (IPCB) for alleged asbestos violations by the owner of a Chicago apartment building and a contractor hired to renovate the complex. “There’s no excuse for the unsafe handling and removal of asbestos,” Madigan said in commenting on both cases. “We will pursue building owners and contractors whose actions endanger their employees and public health.” Pattison Associates, LLC, was hired to renovate an 18-unit apartment complex at 5701 S. Calumet Ave. In October 2003, after demolition of the interior, an IEPA inspection revealed suspected dry, friable materials on the floor and noticed that asbestos-containing pipes leading from a boiler in the basement had been removed. According to Madigan’s complaint, the building was not inspected for asbestos prior to renovation as required by law. Samples obtained by IEPA during the inspection confirmed elevated levels of asbestos fibers present in the basement. Asbestos is a known human carcinogen and Madigan’s complaint alleges that Pattison’s improper handling and removal of asbestos-containing materials allowed asbestos fibers to be released into the air.
government briefs
12 C H I C A G O L A N D B U I L D I N G & E N V I R O N M E N T S
AUTUMN 2005