FACT SHEET ** EPA PCB Treatment, Inc. Superfund Site RGCjion 7 Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, Missouri June 2000 ¦ 1 Information Session Announcement EPA will hold an information session, Tuesday, June 20, 2000 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Hyatt Regency Crown Center Fremont Room 2345 McGee Street Kansas City, Missouri Staff members involved at the sites will be available to answer your questions, one-on- one. Site updates will be given at 4 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. You can attend the meeting at your convenience between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Validated parking is available for those that park at the Hyatt Regency Crown Center. EPA is currently asking for comments on the Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis for the sites. The 30-day comment period opens June 8, 2000 and closes July 10, 2000. Comments can be submitted orally or in writing. Written comments (post-marked no later then July 10, 2000), can be sent to: Pauletta France-Isetts, EPA Superfund Division 901 N. 5th Street Kansas City, Kansas 66101 BACKGROUND The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 continues to oversee activities at the PCB Treatment, Inc. (PCB, Inc.) sites in the Kansas City metropolitan area. PCB, Inc. began operations at 2100 Wyandotte Street, Kansas City, Missouri in 1982. A portion of the operation moved to 45 Ewing Street, Kansas City, Kansas in 1984. EPA permitted the PCB, Inc. facility to treat and dispose of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from 1982 until 1986. The permit to treat and dispose PCB-contaminated materials expired in 1986 and was not renewed. EPA inspected the facility in 1985. The inspection was done under the EPA's Toxic Substances Control Act's (TSCA) spill policy. TSCA tracks chemicals that may pose health and environmental hazards. The inspection revealed numerous spills and mishandling of PCB containing materials. Due to these problems, EPA assessed a monetary penalty against the facility. As part of the negotiated settlement, PCB, Inc. was to clean the buildings at 2100 Wyandotte and 45 Ewing Streets. Unfortunately the clean up efforts were not successful. SUPERFUND INVOLVEMENT ------- The PCB, Inc. sites were referred to Superfund during early 1995. Superfund is the federal program that locates, investigates and cleans up hazardous waste sites throughout the country. Superfund cleanup is paid for either by parties responsible for contamination or by the Superfund Trust Fund. Under the Superfund law, EPA is able to require those companies and individuals responsible for the site contamination to perform, and pay for the cleanup work at the site. Superfund is used primarily when those companies or people responsible for contamination at Superfund sites cannot be found, or cannot perform or pay for the cleanup work. SITE UPDATE The EPA has released the Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA) for the PCB, Inc sites. The EE/CA examines removal alternatives for the sites. EPA entered into an agreement called an Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) with a group of Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs). These PRPs were some of the customers of the former PCB, Inc. facility. PCB, Inc. customers included the federal government, rural electric cooperatives, utility companies, cities, states, and large and small businesses. During its operation, PCB, Inc. received shipments of PCB contaminated materials from nearly 2,000 customers. Under the AOC, the PRPs agreed to conduct a site investigation. The PRPs used the information from the investigation and EPA's facility investigations to prepare the EE/CA. All of the site work was done under EPA oversight. evaluation (RSE). The RSE consisted of taking samples of the building interiors and exterior soils. Sample results indicated high levels of PCBs in the floors and walls of the buildings and in the soil surrounding the buildings at both site locations. The contamination resulted from past operations and appears to be limited to the buildings and surrounding soils. EPA's PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE EPA's preferred alternative for the sites meets the requirements for overall protection of human health and the environment. The EE/CA evaluated three alternative methods for addressing the buildings and the soils on the sites. Buildings EPA's preferred alternative for the buildings is to demolish the buildings using controlled measures. The building debris and materials in the buildings will be properly disposed. The buildings will be dismantled to control the dust. During the dismantling, the structures will be misted with water to control the dust. Soils EPA proposes to excavate and dispose of the contaminated soils at the sites. Using common construction techniques and equipment, the soil will be excavated to at least a depth of one foot. It will be sorted, based on contaminant levels and disposed of offsite at a sanitary landfill or a TSCA landfill. The excavated areas will be backfilled with clean soil. The PRPs have completed the removal site ------- NEXT STEPS EPA will make a final decision on how the sites will be addressed. The decision will be published in a document called an Action Memorandum. EPA will consider public comments when preparing the Action Memorandum and prepare responses to such comments. FOR MORE INFORMATION EPA encourages community members to review and comment on the EE/CA for the PCB, Inc. sites. The EE/CA is a part of the Administrative Record File for the sites. The Administrative Record File and the EE/CA are available for public review at the following locations during normal business hours: Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, Missouri EPA Region 7 Main Public Library Main Public Library Docket Room 625 Minnesota Avenue Government Documents 901 N. 5th Street Kansas City, Kansas 311 E. 12th Street Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, Missouri If you have additional questions about this fact sheet or the sites, please contact: Hattie Thomas Pauletta France-Isetts Community Involvement Coordinator Remedial Project Manager EPA Region 7 EPA Region 7 901 N. 5th Street 901 N. 5th Street Kansas City, Kansas 66101 Kansas City, Kansas 66101 1-913-551-7003 1-913-551-7084 (PCB, Inc. message line) Fax: 913-551-7066 Fax: 913-551-7063 E-mail: thomas.hattie@epa.gov Toll-free 1-800-223-0425 (in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska) m# ------- |