*>EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Visit the Koppers Site
July 16, 2013
Open House and Guided Tours
4:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Hosted by Beazer East, Inc.
1555 N. Marion Street
Carbondale, IL
For additional information
Rafael P. Gonzalez
U.S. EPA Public Affairs Specialist
Land and Chemicals Division
312-886-0269
gonzaiez.rafaelp@epa.gov
Carolyn Bury
U.S. EPA Project Manager
Land and Chemicals Division
312-886-3020
burv.carolvn@epa.gov
U.S. EPA toll-free: 800-621-8431,
8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., weekdays
U.S. EPA Region 5
77 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604-3590
Mike Slenska, P.E.
Beazer East Inc.
1910 Cochran Road
Suite 200
Pittsburgh, PA 15220
877-678-9790
mike.slenska@trmi. biz
Information repository and
website:
A file containing official documents
about the Koppers site is available
for your review at the Carbondale
Public Library, 405 W. Main Street,
Carbondale or at
www.epa.gov/region5/cleanup/rcra/
koppers/.
Koppers Open House - July 16, 2013
and
	Protective Clean-up Overview
Former Koppers Wood Treating Site
Carbondale. Illinois	Julv 2013
During the EPA public meeting held in Carbondale on May 22, 2013,
some neighboring residents voiced concern over the approach used at
the former Koppers Wood Treating Plant to clean up contamination at
the demolished site. Some residents believe that there is stili a risk of
exposure to contamination because all materials were not removed to
an off-site landfill, but are being contained and managed in-place. This
newsletter explains the clean-up strategy used at the site, which
includes remedial design elements for eliminating exposure to
contamination now and into the future. Furthermore, the site owner,
Beazer East, Inc. (Beazer), wants to show people the actual remedies
and what the site looks like today at an Open House on July 16, 2013.
History: In 2004, EPA selected a remedial strategy of on-site
management of clean-up wastes including soil, sediment and debris at
the Koppers site. This strategy is used at sites across the country.
Additionally, liquid wastes are being extracted from the ground and
taken off-site for disposal or recycling.
Future Protection: When contamination is left in place using a
containment method, one of the trade-offs for the site owner is that the
containment systems must be maintained and monitored forever and
the responsibility for doing so stays with the site owner and any future
owner (via the property title). Containment measures are maintained
for as long as the contaminated materials remain in place.
The three-acre CAMU in the background, looking north from the
western soil cover. The CAMU contains contaminated materials dug
up at the site and has a leak monitoring and collection system.

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Pre-Remedial Conditions: On-site, large
volumes of soil and sediment were contaminated
with creosote, heavy metals and dioxin/furans.
Below ground, an unknown and presumed large
volume of creosote resided in cracks in the clay.
Several piles of contaminated debris were also
present. On the eastern side of the site, Glade
Creek was laden with creosote along the creek
bottom for nearly one mile, as far as Piles Fork
Creek.
Off-site sampling in the adjacent neighborhood in
2005, 2006, and 2012 by EPA, Beazer, and the
City of Carbondale showed that the neighborhood
was not contaminated.
Remedies: The overall clean-up approach was
to isolate contamination that was identified as
being above clean-up standards and to restrict
the future use of the site to non-residential uses.
A caretaker works at the site to monitor its
condition.
Treatment of the large volume of contaminated
soil was considered in 2002. However, the
process would have required at least a decade of
moving materials in and out of the treatment unit
which had considerable risk of creating fugitive
emissions and an uncertain outcome.
CAMU: An engineered containment unit called a
Corrective Action Management Unit ("CAMU")
was constructed on top of an area of already
contaminated soil. The CAMU holds 30,000
cubic yards of materials from around the site.
The CAMU design includes a double liner and
liquid collection system that is routinely monitored
and maintained to prevent buildup of liquids. It
also includes a soil cover system to reduce
rainwater infiltration and to prevent people and
wildlife from coming into contact with materials in
the CAMU. Regular inspections ensure that the
cover system remains in place.
Soils: Soils stained with creosote were removed
and placed in the CAMU. Also, about 37 acres of
contaminated soils are contained beneath a low-
permeability cover. Some of the cover areas
include a high-density polyethylene liner for
additional isolation. All of the covers have one
foot of soil, and grass or roadway surfaces.
Covers do not destroy or remove contaminants.
Instead, they isolate them, keep the soil in place,
and prevent people and wildlife from coming into
contact with contaminants.
Western soil cover, looking southwest from the CAMU.
The adjacent neighborhood is on the other side of the
tree-line.
A cover is effective as long as it does not erode,
develop holes or cracks, and stays in place. Regular
inspections will continue to be required at Koppers to
make sure that weather, plant roots, wildlife or humans
have not damaged the soil cover. Also, groundwater
monitoring wells are placed around the cover areas and
the site itself. The wells are sampled to ensure that
contamination does not spread beyond the site
boundaries.
Glade Creek: The section of the creek at the east end
of the property was laden with creosote before the
remedies were completed. Part of the creek channel
was moved outside the zone where the creosote was
entering. An underground trench was installed near the
old channel location to collect creosote. Collected
creosote is sent off-site for re-use or disposal. About
9,000 cubic yards of the downstream end of the creek
were excavated, mixed with stabilizing materials, and
placed in the CAMU.
When the remedies were being constructed at Koppers,
dust was controlled by trucks that sprayed water and air
quality was monitored to ensure the protection of site
workers and neighboring properties.
New Health Risk Assessment: Over the next year,
Beazer and EPA will complete additional risk
assessments using the latest data to guide decisions
about whether more clean-up may be needed. A risk
assessment estimates the chances for negative health
effects occurring from exposure to chemical
contamination.

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