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Community Relations - Fact Sheets

Interstate Heat Treating, Inc. Site

Fact Sheet #3
April 2004

Site Location Map, Hegeler Zinc - Hegeler, IL

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Danville, Illinois

Background

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency issued an administrative order on July 3, 2003, to seal this former industrial site at 2603 Georgetown Road in Danville due to site conditions that posed a potential risk to public health and the environment. The seal order prohibits entry to the site by anyone except personnel authorized by the Illinois EPA to perform official response actions. Signs posted at the site warn of the danger from and penalty for entry onto the site.

The seal order was based on observations of Illinois EPA inspectors, who visited the facility with Vermilion County Public Health officials in July 2003. During this investigation, the Illinois EPA discovered abandoned drums, tanks and other containers that might contain hazardous substances. Several drums within the building were labeled “Barium Chloride,” which is a hazardous substance that may cause injury from ingestion, inhalation or skin contact. Results from sampling the contents of storage drums, process tanks and other containers on three occasions revealed some hazardous substances. The site was referred to the Illinois Attorney General in July 2003.

U.S. EPA, in consultation with Illinois EPA, performed a time-critical removal action at the site in December 2003. Contractors working for U.S. EPA removed from the site all drums and above-ground storage containers of hazardous materials as well as soils containing levels of hazardous substances that exceeded U.S. EPA Emergency Removal Guidelines. The Illinois EPA performed follow-up inspections and sampling.

After U.S. EPA removed the materials that were out in the open, were samples taken of the site soils?	Yes. Illinois EPA performed further on-site investigation to determine what, if any, hazardous materials remain on the site after U.S. EPA’s immediate removal action. During the week of December 15th, Illinois EPA tested site soils and area groundwater to better characterize what hazards may still be present at the site. Some soil and groundwater samples were also taken from private properties. The samples were analyzed for inorganic compounds (metals) and organics including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
What did the sampling reveal? Is there residual contamination on the site?	Although some contamination remains at this site, contamination levels identified from analysis were less than cleanup objectives for both state and federal guidelines for residential or industrial/commercial property.
Will there be any further site investigation?	No further investigation is planned at this time.
Is the site secure now? Because children will soon be out of school, is there concern that some children might come in contact with the hazardous waste on the site?	U.S. EPA secured the site with a partial fence last fall to complement the existing fence. All parts of the site are secured from persons walking onto the site, except for the far eastern portion. Based on sampling results thus far, Illinois EPA has no evidence of hazardous materials on that part of the property.
What is the current status of the site?	The State of Illinois, through the Illinois EPA and the Attorney General’s Office, will continue to review conditions at this site. Based on past conditions at this site, it is important to reinforce the idea that children should stay away from the site. While U.S. EPA and Illinois EPA are fairly certain that the immediate threat from open chemicals has been removed from the site, we cannot assume that other environmental and/or physical hazards do not exist.

For more information, you may contact:

Carol Fuller
Community Relations Coord
Illinois EPA
(217) 524-8807

Ken Corkill
Project Manager
Illinois EPA
(217) 524-1664

Cary Ware
IDPH Toxicologist
Champaign Regional Office
2125 S. First St.
Champaign, IL 61820
(217) 278-5000

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