Return  to   Use  Initiativ
             2007  Demonstration   Project
Parsons  Casket  Hardware


Company:

Belvidere,  Illinois

THE SITE:   The Parsons Casket Hardware Company manufactured
decorative metal fittings for caskets from the early 1920s to 1982 in
Belvidere, Illinois. Manufacturing operations required the use of hazardous
chemicals and resulted in hazardous waste byproducts, which were stored
in drums, aboveground and underground storage tanks, and an unlined
surface impoundment.  Ground water was contaminated with volatile
organic compounds (VOCs), and soils were polluted with VOCs and heavy
metals. The Parsons Casket Hardware Company continued to operate in
the facility until it filed for bankruptcy in 1982. Bordered by residential
communities and industrial areas, the site itself is six acres, with a ground
water plume extending an additional 75 acres or more. In 1985, the State
of Illinois began the cleanup of the unlined surface impoundment and the
storage tanks on the site. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List
in 1987 and soil cleanup was completed in 2002.

THE OPPORTUNITY:  The City of Belvidere  would like  to use a
portion of the Parsons site to extend a truck route from the bypass into the
commercial area around the Parsons site. The new road would route traffic
away from nearby residential areas.

THE BARRIERS: The Record of Decision requires deed restrictions on
the property. In order for the City to use the site for a road, wellheads may
need to be relocated or flush-mounted. Cleanup equipment remaining on
the site will also need to be removed before reuse can occur.

THE SOLUTION: EPA has prepared a "reasonable steps letter" to advise
the City on the future reuse of the site and the steps needed to protect
the integrity  of the  remedy, including implementation of  institutional
controls.

THE SITE NOW: The site is fenced and ready for the final steps that
will prepare the property for reuse. EPA is involved in discussions with the
City of Belvidere to help evaluate the site's conditions and reuse status.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:  Syed Quadri, Remedial
Barriers:
Implementation of deed restrictions

Solution:
Collaboration between EPA and
the City to implement institutional
controls and evaluate reuse options


Before:
Vacant site

After:
Potential location for a new road
that will route traffic away from
residential areas
                         Superfund Redevelopment  Initiative

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Project Manager, at (312) 886-5736 or
quadri.syed@epa.gov: or Tom Bloom, Region 5 Superfund Redevelopment Coordinator, at (312) 886-1967 or
bloom.thomas@epa.gov.
                           Superfund Redevelopment Initiative

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