News Releases - 2003

Sampling Scheduled for Southeast Rockford Groundwater Contamination Site

Springfield, Ill. -- Illinois EPA Director Renee Cipriano has announced that Illinois EPA staff will be in Rockford the week of July 7 to conduct soil gas sampling for the Southeast Rockford Groundwater Contamination Superfund site.

The soil gas sampling is part of a multi-phase investigation to determine if vapors from two sources of contamination below the ground surface are making their way into subsoils below area homes. These source areas are Areas 4 and 7 of the Superfund site, which are sources of industrial solvents containing volatile organic compounds.

In a few weeks, canisters will be placed in selected homes to determine if soil gases have seeped into the basements. “While we do not expect to find problems, the Illinois EPA believes that we should resample the homes as a precautionary measure. It is important not only to gather these scientific data, but to also collect information necessary to verify that the homes are free from intrusive vapors,” said Cipriano.

The process of selecting the homes to be sampled is currently underway. Selection will be based on the proximity to the two source areas and a survey of the candidate homes. The surveys will help determine if there are sources of volatiles from household products and other use, which might interfere with the results.

In 1992 and 1993, the Illinois EPA and the Illinois Department of Public Health conducted its initial basement air sampling. The results determined that basement air met conservative guidelines that were protective of residents. However, the agencies believe that it important to do follow-up sampling to ensure that conditions had not changed in a way that would negatively affect residents.

Since the earlier round of testing, the scientific community has learned much more about how vapors move through soils. Because of this new information, U.S.EPA has established new protocols to ensure the data is of the highest quality. Illinois EPA has therefore developed a Quality Assurance Plan for investigation that reflects these new guidelines.

These activities are part of the overall efforts to remedy the sources of groundwater contamination. Technical remedies will remove or treat soils and leachate, eliminating them as a future source of contamination. These actions will help protect the aquifer for future generations; the aquifer is the primary source of drinking water in Winnebago County.

Contamination of groundwater in Southeast Rockford was caused by decades of direct disposal of industrial wastes, spills, leaks from tanks, and from mishandling of various solvents. There is a history of industrial activity in the area dating back to at least 1906.