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EPA names new Superfund National Priorities List sites in Danville, Ill., and Copley, Ohio

Release Date: 4/27/2005
Contact Information:

CONTACT:
(U.S. EPA) Mick Hans, (312) 353-5050
(Illinois EPA) Maggie Carson, (217) 558-1536

For Immediate Release
No. 05-OPA053

CHICAGO (Apr. 27, 2005) — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that two new sites in the Great Lakes states have been added to the Superfund National Priorities List. Hegeler Zinc, Danville, Ill., and Copley Square Plaza, Copley, Ohio, were among 10 sites added to the list and and seven proposed for the list nationally. The sites are named in today(s Federal Register. No new sites were proposed in EPA Region 5.

The National Priorities List guides EPA in determining which sites warrant further federal action. Since Superfund(s inception, cleanup at about 70 percent of NPL sites has been paid for or performed by parties held responsible for the contamination. For the newly listed or proposed sites, EPA does not expect to need significant construction funds for several years, until thorough investigations of the sites are completed.

The Hegeler Zinc site is a 100-acre former zinc smelter in Vermilion County, about three miles south of Danville, which operated from 1906 until about 1954. The property includes a 5-acre lead-contaminated slag waste pile. A 2001 Illinois EPA study of the area confirmed lead and cadmium-contaminated soil in some residential areas. EPA is also concerned about an unnamed creek that flows through the site into Grape Creek, which ultimately connects with the Vermilion River. EPA has installed a 6-foot fence at the site to prevent public access. Next, EPA will select a contractor to consolidate the most contaminated soils and eventually ship them to an approved landfill. This work is expected to begin in the fall.

The three-acre Copley Square Plaza site is in Summit County. The former Danton Dry Cleaners, which operated from 1963 to 1994, has been identified as a source of contamination. Past investigations by Ohio EPA have confirmed ground-water contamination from dry-cleaning solvents including tetrachloroethylene, or PCE. Most recently, EPA has selected a contractor to review past investigative work by Ohio EPA and other parties to determine what additional environmental data may need to be collected.

The just-added sites bring the total to 1,245 final NPL sites, with 64 proposed sites awaiting final agency action. Cleanup construction has been completed at 932 sites. More information, including fact sheets for the new proposed and final sites, is at https://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/newnpl.htm.