News Releases - 1998

Demolition Work Begins at Refinery

Lawrenceville, Ill. -- Illinois EPA and U.S. EPA announced today that demolition work will begin during the week of June 8 at the former American Western/Texaco refinery in Lawrenceville.

Blatsco Services Company will act as the general demolition/decommissioning contractor and will subcontract certain aspects of the site work. Removal of asbestos-containing materials from outdoor pipes and equipment will occur before each piece is decommissioned and removed from the site. Philips Services Company, a licensed asbestos contractor, will use only trained and licensed asbestos abatement workers and will adhere to federal and state laws regulating asbestos removal, disposal and transportation and asbestos worker safety. Decommissioning plans call for demolition of the refinery from the ground up. The demolition project may take up to three years to complete.

Illinois EPA will have an agency representative from the Bureau of Land on site five days a week during the entire project to make sure that the terms of the decommissioning plan are met. Investigation of the contaminated soils on the site is not part of this activity. Illinois EPA will issue a subsequent news release once a decision is reached about how that investigation will proceed.

Preliminary site investigations during 1996 and 1997 discovered petroleum products and petroleum processing-related contaminants on much of the 900-acre site, including oils, gasoline and other fuels, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heavy metals (such as lead) and acidic sludges. Some of the contaminants are considered hazardous due to their toxic nature or their potential as cancer-causing agents.

As with any major demolition project, it is advised that the general public should stay away from the refinery site. This is especially important since there are both physical and chemical hazards at the site. Illinois EPA’s Office of Community Relations will soon mail a fact sheet with more details about the current site activities to citizens and officials on the contact list for the site. If you would like to be added to the contact list for future updates, or if you have questions or concerns about the site, you may contact Carol Fuller at 217/524-8807, 1021 N. Grand Avenue East, P.O. Box 19276, Springfield, Illinois 62794-19276. If you have an immediate concern about site activities, you may contact Illinois EPA project manager: Greg Ratliff, 217/782-9882.