vvEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
You are invited
On Thursday, July 24, EPA will hold an
open house from 4 to 6 p.m., and a formal
public meeting at 6:30 p.m., at the David
S. Palmer Arena, 100 W. Main St., Room
127, Danville, to discuss the proposed
Hegeler Zinc residential area cleanup.
Public comments will be accepted.
Read the proposed plan
You may review the detailed cleanup plan
at the information repository: Danville
Public Library, 319 N. Vermilion St.,
Danville; U.S. EPA Record Center, 77 W.
Jackson Blvd., 7th Floor, Chicago; or at
www. epa. gov/region5/cl eanup/hegeler
zinc/index, htm.
Public comment period
U.S. EPA encourages you to comment on
the proposed plan. The comment period
ends Wednesday, August 8.
There are several ways to submit written
comments:
•	Fill out and mail the enclosed
comment sheet, or turn it in at the
public meeting.
•	Send an email to Jennifer Cheever at
cheever.jennifer@epa.gov.
•	Send a fax to 312-697-2699.
•	www.epa.gov/region5/cleanup/hegeler
zmc/pubcomment.html.
U.S. EPA will accept oral comments at the
July 24 public meeting. A court reporter
will record all oral comments.
Contact information
Jennifer Cheever
Remedial Project Manager
312-353-4627
cheever.j ennifer@epa.gov
Teresa Jones
Community Involvement Coordinator
312-886-0725
jones.teresa@epa.gov
EPA Proposes Cleanup Plan for
Hegeler Residential Area	
Hegeler Zinc Superfund Site
Vermilion County, Illinois	July 2014
To clean up soil contamination in the Hegeler Zinc site residential area, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency plans to remove soil from properties with
high levels of lead and arsenic, replace the contaminated soil with clean soil and
restore the ground, as closely as practical, to its original condition.
U.S. EPA considers a "high level" of lead to be 400 parts of lead per million
parts of soil, expressed as parts per million, or ppm. For arsenic, the number is
35 ppm. In the metric system, it's called milligrams per kilogram, or mg/kg.
U.S. EPA officials believe the proposed cleanup plan will prevent human
exposure to contaminated soil, especially for children.
This proposed plan fact sheet provides background information about the
Hegeler Zinc Superfund site, describes alternatives U.S. EPA considered for
cleaning up the contaminated soil in the residential area - known as Operable
Unit 3 - and identifies the recommended cleanup alternative.1
Before making a final decision, U.S. EPA will hold a public meeting and seek
comments from the public (see box, left). The Agency, in consultation with
Illinois EPA, may select a different cleanup alternative based on public
comments, so your opinion is important. The final cleanup plan will be part of a
document called the "record of decision:'
The Hegeler Zinc site is south of Danville, in east-central Illinois.
Section 117(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA
known as the Superfund law) requires publication of a notice and a proposed plan. It also requires a public
comment period and the opportunity for a public meeting. This fact sheet summarizes the technical written
proposed plan and other site-related environmental reports that can be viewed at the Danville Public Library,
319 N. Vermilion St. and the U.S. EPA office in Chicago.
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About the site
The 100-acre Hegeler Zinc site is about 3% miles south of
Danville in an unincorporated area of Vermilion County.
The site is in a rural area, bordered by farmland on the
west and north. An automobile salvage yard is about
1,000 feet northeast of the site.
During its years of operation, Hegeler Zinc produced
various grades of zinc slab and rolled zinc products, as
well as sulfuric acid and cadmium. The company also
operated its own local coal mine to charge its smelting
furnaces. Around the time Hegeler Zinc operations began,
three residential neighborhoods - Hegeler, East Hegeler
and Tilton - were developed to the east and north of
Hegeler Zinc. Homes were built there in the early 1900s.
The company shut down its zinc smelting operations in
November 1947, but zinc rolling and sulfuric acid
production operations continued until at least 1954. In
August 1954, Hegeler dissolved and its sole stockholder,
National Distillers and Chemical Corp., took over
operations.
National Distillers sold the zinc rolling mill operations
the following year to Peterson Filling and Packaging. The
facility was then used to package insecticides, shaving
products and other items. In 1956, Illinois Fireworks Co.
purchased the remaining National Distillers property and
made fireworks there until 1987, storing fireworks in
temporary small wooden huts and inoperable tractor-
trailers placed throughout the site. Many of these
buildings and trailers are still at the site.
National Distillers later became Quantum Chemical
Corp., which then became Millennium Petrochemicals in
1997.
hi May 2003, U.S. EPA installed a six-foot chain link
fence around the former zinc smelting area, including
signage, to keep people from coming into contact with the
contaminated soil and waste material. The site was placed
on the National Priorities List in April 2005, making it
eligible for cleanup under U.S. EPA's Superfund
program.
Complex cleanup sites are often divided into smaller,
more manageable sections called Operable Units, or OUs.
The Hegeler Zinc site has three OUs:
•	OU1 is the former Hegeler Zinc property. It
encompasses the original boundaries of the
former zinc operating facility, including areas of
soil, surface water, sediment and groundwater
contamination.
•	OU2 is the affected areas of surface water and
sediment located outside of the U.S. EPA-
constructed fence around OU1, including Grape
Creek and an unnamed tributary.
•	OU3 is the residential area east of the former
Hegeler Zinc property.
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This model of the Hegeler Zinc Supetftmd site shows how the wind may have blown contamination toward a residential area.

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0U3 site characteristics
0U3 includes the residential area within the Hegeler
neighborhood, from North 1st Street and South 1st Street
east to, and including, South 3rd Street. The OU3
boundary was defined based on contaminant
concentrations determined in the 2007 and 2013
investigations. There are 109 properties within the
boundaries of OU3.
The primary source of OU3 contamination is the former
smelting operation, including stack emissions, residual
waste materials and slag that was stored in piles (see
diagram. Page 2). The levels of lead and arsenic detected
in OU3 surface soil are consistent with those observed in
OU1, which are known to be associated with the smelter
operations.
The primary cause of contaminated soil is contaminated
particles carried by wind and precipitation. Particles
moving from the slag piles and emissions from former
smelter stacks are believed to have been transported by
the wind from OU1 and deposited on the ground in OU3,
which is downwind of the former smelter site based on
wind direction measurements.
Human health risks
A study of potential risks to public health and the
environment was conducted for the residential area at the
Hegeler Zinc site. Human health risk-based cleanup goals
were identified for the only two contaminants at OU3 -
arsenic and lead in soil.
The greatest potential risk to people is coming into
contact with lead- and arsenic-contaminated soil in their
yards. People could be exposed by accidentally getting
contaminated soil in their mouths, breathing in
contaminated dust particles, or getting contaminated soil
on their skin - although the greatest risk of exposure
comes from mouth ingestion of the soil, the risk from
simply touching the soil is low, and lower still from
breathing dust particles outdoors.
Small children are the most sensitive to lead exposure.
U.S. EPA set a cleanup goal of no more than 400 mg/kg
of lead. Anything greater than that, the Agency predicts
could cause elevated blood levels in small children -
levels which could cause harmful effects. Though lead is
the most widespread contaminant at OU3, U.S. EPA also
found arsenic. The Agency decided to use 35 mg/kg as
the cleanup goal for arsenic. The risk assessment found
that 400 mg/kg of lead and 35 mg/kg of arsenic will
protect people and the environment. Therefore, cleanup
options call for removing shallow soil with higher levels
of lead and arsenic.
3
All about lead
Lead is highly toxic. It can cause behavioral problems
and learning disabilities, as well as seizures and death.
Lead can enter the body by inhaling air, drinking water,
or swallowing food or dirt that contains lead. Small
amounts of lead can also enter the body through the
skin.
Lead can cause high blood pressure, digestive problems,
nerve disorders, memory and concentration problems,
and muscle and joint pain. Exposure to lead is
particularly dangerous for pregnant women. It can cause
premature birth, low birth weight or miscarriage.
Children 6 and younger are also at risk. They are more
likely to swallow dirt that contains lead, and they are
more sensitive to the effects of lead. Lead exposure in
children has been shown to decrease IQ scores, and
cause slow growth and hearing problems.
To learn more about lead, visit
www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tf.asp?id=93&tid=22.
All about arsenic
Arsenic is highly toxic. It can cause skin problems,
decreased production of red and white blood cells,
abnormal heart rhythm, and death. Arsenic can enter the
body by inhaling air, drinking water, or swallowing food
or dirt that contains arsenic. Small amounts of arsenic
can also enter the body through the skin.
Arsenic can cause sore throats and lung irritation, and
can increase risk of skin cancer and cancer in the liver,
bladder and lungs. Arsenic can be particularly dangerous
for pregnant women and children. There is some
evidence that exposure to arsenic in the womb and early
childhood may increase death in young adults.
To learn more about arsenic, visit
www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/FS.asp?id=1202&tid=3.
Ecological risks
Based on results of the ecological risk assessment, the
chance of harm to the local ecology from the lead and
arsenic soil contamination is low. Therefore, U.S. EPA
experts believe actions designed specifically to protect the
environment are not warranted in OU3.
Summary of affected properties
U.S. EPA took soil samples in OU3 and found that 27 of
82 properties sampled showed high levels of lead, and
four out of 75 sampled had high levels of arsenic. Based
on these results, 29 properties need to be cleaned up, two
of which have high levels of both lead and

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arsenic. Twenty-seven properties still need to be tested.
The reason for the difference between the number of
properties sampled for lead versus arsenic is because
seven properties were screened for arsenic with a
screening instrument rather than taking samples, and the
results could not be used.
Explanation of evaluation criteria
U.S. EPA compares each cleanup option or
alternative with these nine criteria established by
federal law:
1.	Overall protection of human health and the
environment examines whether an option protects
bodi human health and the environment. This
decisive factor can be met by reducing or removing
pollution or by reducing exposure to it.
2.	Compliance with applicable or relevant and
appropriate requirements ensures options comply
with federal and state laws.
3.	Long-term effectiveness and permanence
evaluates how well an option will work over the
long term, including how safely remaining
contamination can be managed.
4.	Reduction of toxicity, mobility or volume
through treatment determines how well the
treatment option reduces the amount and movement
of contamination.
5.	Short-term effectiveness compares how quickly
an option can help the situation and how much risk
exists while the option is under construction.
6.	Implementability evaluates how practical the
option is, and whether materials and services are
available.
7.	Cost includes not only buildings, equipment,
materials and labor, but also the cost of operating
and maintaining the cleanup for the life of the
project.
8.	State acceptance determines whether the state
environmental agency accepts the option.
9.	Community acceptance is considered by
evaluating the oral and written public comments on
the proposed plan and alternatives.
Summary of cleanup options
The proposed plan deals only with lead and arsenic soil
contamination in the residential area of the Hegeler Zinc
Superfimd site. U.S. EPA is still investigating
contamination at OU1 and OU2, and will develop
separate cleanup plans for those two areas.
U.S. EPA considered three options for cleaning up OU3.
The three options are summarized below. Full details are
available in the technical documents on file at the
Danville Public Library.
Option 1—No Action. U.S. EPA always includes a "no
action" alternative as a basis for comparison with other
cleanup options. With no action, the contaminated soil
would remain in place at OU3.
Cost—$0.
Option 2—Soil Excavation and Off-site Disposal of Soil
Exceeding Cleanup Goals at an Approved Landfill,
Backfill, and Site Restoration. This option consists of
digging up and removing soil with lead and arsenic levels
greater than 400 mg/kg and 35 mg/kg, respectively.
Workers would remove up to 2 feet of soil. Property
owners would be notified of the cleanup and would have
to sign an access agreement for work on their property. If
tests showed contamination deeper than 2 feet, decisions
to dig deeper would be made on a case-by-case basis. The
contaminated soil would be hauled by taick for off-site
disposal at an approved landfill. Clean soil would be used
to backfill the yards, and the yards will be restored as
closely as practical to their original condition.
Estimated Capital Cost: $5.3 million
Estimated Annual Operation and Maintenance Cost: $0
Estimated Truck Trips: 844 loads
Estimated Remedial Action Construction Time frame:
three months
Option 3—Soil Excavation, Transport to and Storage of
Soil Exceeding Cleanup Goals at OU1, Backfill, and
Site Restoration (this is the recommended option).
Option 3 includes everything in Option 2 except that
most, if not all, of the soil would be hauled by truck to
OU1 and stockpiled there to be handled as part of the
future OU1 cleanup. The OU3 soil stockpile at OU1
would be covered with vegetation and watered for growth
and stabilization. In addition, the soil stockpile would be
inspected and maintained to control soil erosion and
sediment runoff until OU1 is cleaned up.
Estimated Capital Cost: $4.3 million
Estimated Annual O&M Cost: $15,000
Estimated Truck Trips: 675 loads to OU1
Estimated Remedial Action Construction Time frame:
three months
4

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How do the options compare?
U.S. EPA compared each option against seven of the nine
evaluation criteria (see comparison chart below) and
selected its recommended alternative. State and
community acceptance will be evaluated after a review of
public comments on the proposed plan. For cleanup of the
residential area, the Agency proposes Option 3 - Soil-
Excavation, Transport to and Storage of Soil Exceeding
Cleanup Goals at OU1, Backfill and Site Restoration.
This option provides the best balance of the evaluation
criteria. It protects people and the environment, meets all
federal and state requirements, and meets all cleanup
objectives. Option 3 is proven, readily implementable and
has been used successfully for other environmental
cleanup projects. This alternative is effective in the long
term and permanent.
Option 3 is less expensive than Option 2 because most, if
not all, of the excavated soil would be transported to OU1
instead of being hauled off-site to an approved landfill.
That means fewer and shorter truck trips than Option 2,
creating less traffic disturbance through the neighborhood
and lessening the risk of traffic accidents.
Full details about the proposed option and the other
options considered are in the technical documents on file
at Danville Public Library or on the Web.
What's next?
Before making a final decision, U.S. EPA and Illinois
EPA will review all comments from the public. U.S. EPA
will respond to the comments and make those responses
available in the final decision document. U.S. EPA could
change its recommended cleanup plan based on public
comments and its consultation with Illinois EPA.
The Agency will announce its final cleanup plan in a
local newspaper advertisement. Copies of the final plan
will be available at the Danville Public Library, in the
EPA Records Center in Chicago and at
www.epa.gov/region5/cleanup/hegelerzinc/index.htm.
Chart comparing cleanup options with the nine Superfund remedy selection criteria
Evaluation Criteria
Option 1
Option 2
Option 3*
Overall Protection of Human Health and the Environment
Poor
Good
Good
Compliance with ARARs
Poor
Excellent
Excellent
Long-term Effectiveness and Permanence
Poor
Excellent
Excellent
Reduction of Toxicity, Mobility, or Volume Through
Treatment
Poor
Poor
Poor
Short-term Effectiveness
Poor
Good
Good
Implementability
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Capital Cost ($ millions)
$0
$5.3
$4.3
State Acceptance
Will be evaluated after the public comment period
Community Acceptance
Will be evaluated after the public comment period
*EPA"s recommended option
5

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EPA Proposes Cleanup Plan,
Seeks Public Comments
Open House
Thursday, July 24
4 to 6 p.m.
Public Meeting
6:30 p.m.
Public comment period July 9 to August 8
If you will need special accommodations at the meeting, contact
Community Involvement Coordinator Teresa Jones (see Page 1)
For more information
You may review site-related
documents at:
Danville Public Library
319 N. Vermilion St.
On the Web:
www. epa. gov/region5/cleanup/he
gelerzinc/index. htm
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