United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Contact EPA
These Eagle Zinc site team members
are available to answer questions or
provide more information about the
lead sampling and remedial design:
Nefertiti Simmons
Remedial Project Manager
312-886-6148
simmons.nefertiti@epa.gov
Virginia Narsete
EPA Community Involvement
Coordinator
312-886-4359
narsete .virginia@epa.gov
Rick Lanham
State Project Manager
217-782-9881
Rick.lanham@illinois.gov
Region 5 toll-free: 800-621-8431,
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., weekdays
Read the documents
Site-related documents and files may
be viewed at the following location:
Hillsboro Public Library
214 School St.
On the Web
www.epa.gov/region5/sites/eaglezinc
Project Update: Building
Demolition Planned
Eagle Zinc Site
Hillsboro, Illinois
May 2011
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to oversee the demolition
and disposal of contaminated buildings on the Eagle Zinc property later
this year. At the same time, the Agency is investigating soil, sediment and
water contamination in and around the site with the goal of proposing a final
cleanup plan for the area.
EPA often divides complex cleanup sites into smaller, more manageable
sections called "operable units" or OUs. The Eagle Zinc site contains two
OUs. OU1 covers the building demolition and on-site storage of the debris
while OU2 focuses on contaminated soil, sediment (mud), ground water
(underground supply of fresh water) and surface water.
EPA will hold a public meeting or availability session to discuss the work
being done at OU1 and OU2 if the community expresses interest. Please
contact Nefertiti Simmons or Ginny Narsete (see left-hand box) to request a
public meeting.
Site background
The Eagle Zinc site is located in the city and township of Hillsboro in
Montgomery County, Illinois. The 132-acre property is located in a mixed
commercial/industrial/residential area in northeast Hillsboro. The location
extends from Smith Road on the north to the Middle Fork of Shoal Creek
on the south. Zinc processing operations took place at the Site from 1912 to
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2003. including the production of sulfuric acid and zinc
oxide. Manufacturing byproducts arc concentrated in 15
waste or residue piles, which are mainly located in the
central and southern portions of the site although waste
material is widely scattered across that area. A large pond
that formerly provided water for the facility sits in the
southwest corner.
Eagle Zinc, a division of T.L. Diamond Inc., owns the
property. The investigations and cleanup actions at the
location are funded in part by a legal settlement reached
between EPA and T.L. Diamond. The majority of the
cleanup, however, will be paid by taxpayer money.
The location is zoned industrial by the city of Hillsboro
and legal restrictions on the property limit future uses to
industrial and commercial purposes. Local authorities have
expressed significant interest in redeveloping the site.
The leftover materials and contaminated residue on-
site were sampled as part of several environmental
investigations. EPA discovered lead levels exceeding the
Agency's industrial health standards. Potential health risks
exist for people who become exposed to these materials
such as site workers or trespassers. In 2007, Eagle Zinc
was listed on the National Priorities List. The NPL is a
roster of the nation's hazardous waste sites eligible for
cleanup under EPA's Superfund program.
OU1
EPA signed a document (with Illinois EPA concurrence)
called a '"record of decision'" or ROD outlining the selected
cleanup steps for the site buildings. This cleanup plan is a
short-term action to control contamination associated with
dilapidated buildings on the Eagle Zinc site.
After the ROD was signed, the two agencies began
working on what is called the "remedial design" for the
selected cleanup steps. During the design phase, the cost
rose from $3.8 million to $6.2 million because officials
found additional work needed to be done to protect people's
health and the environment. An explanation of significant
differences or ESD is being drafted to explain the cost
increase in detail. The ESD will be available for the public
in the information repository upon its completion.
Here is an outline of the OU1 cleanup:
• The demolition of 22 buildings oil-site, including
manufacturing and office buildings and laboratories.
The buildings will be demolished with excavators,
crane and balls, forklifts and other equipment.
* Off-site disposal of asbestos-containing material and
decay-prone waste.
• Recycling of steel, metal, bricks and other reusable
material.
* Consolidation of demolition debris into a constructed
cell covering 0.8 acres and rising 8-feet high. The cell
will hold approximately 11,600 cubic yards of debris
and will be covered by 6 inches of clay and 6 inches of
soil and native vegetation.
* All nonhazardous waste will be managed on-site
under the one-foot soil cover. Any hazardous waste
will be contained on-site until a long-term cleanup
plan is in place.
The site's responsible parties conducted what is called a
"remedial investigation" or RI. A remedial investigation
is a study of the nature and extent of contamination at a
cleanup site. After reviewing the RI, EPA and Illinois EPA
decided to conduct a supplemental RI in order to fill in
gaps in the data.
During the supplemental investigation from November
2010 to January 2011, waste piles, soil, sediment and
water samples were analyzed for metals such as arsenic,
cadmium, copper, lead, manganese and zinc. In addition,
10 new ground water monitoring wells were installed
and old wells were reopened. The concrete slabs under
buildings were tested for metals and to see how porous the
concrete is.
EPA's contractor is in the process of bidding out the OU1
cleanup work to sub-contractors. The project will take
about five months to complete.
In OU2, fieldw7ork is complete and environmental
regulators are awaiting laboratory results. From the
information gathered, EPA and IEPA will write a
"supplemental remedial investigation" report, followed by
a "feasibility study" or FS. The FS will evaluate potential
options for the final cleanup actions at OU2. EPA in
consultation with Illinois EPA will present the cleanup
options, including the Agency's preferred cleanup option,
to the community at a meeting and receive input from the
public through a comment period before selecting a final
plan. The selected plan will then be explained in the ROD
for OU2.
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Key project milestones:
2003 - 2007
2007
2008
2009
2010
Key Activities
• Site investigation by responsible party with Illinois EPA oversight.
• Eagle Zinc is listed on the National Priorities List (NPL).
• Sampling of contamination associated with buildings on-site.
• Installation of fence around the site.
• Interim Record of Decision (ROD) for building demolition.
• Began remedial design for OU 1.
• Began supplemental remedial investigation for OU 2.
• Community interviews for community involvement plan.
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Project Update: Building Demolition Planned
Eagle Zinc Site
These Eagle Zinc site team members are available to answer questions or provide more
information about the lead sampling and remedial design:
Nefertiti Simmons Virginia Narsete
Remedial Project Manager EPA Community
312-886-6148 Involvement Coordinator
simmons.nefertiti@epa.gov 312-886-4359
narsete .virginia@epa.gov
Rick Lanham
State Project Manager
217-782-9881
Rick.lanham@illinois.gov
Region 5 toll-free: 800-621-8431, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., weekdays
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