vvEPA Cleanup Plan Proposed I Initcarl Qfa+oc ® ® For Radiation Property United States Environmental Protection Agency Ottawa Radiation Areas Ottawa, Illinois February 2007 Your comments are needed EPA has established a public comment period running from February 12 to March 5, 2007 (midnight postmark). The comment period gives people the chance to express their views in writing on the proposed cleanup plan for the parking lot known as the LPI Adjacent Area. Your comments are important. Based on the opinions received, EPA could modify the proposed cleanup procedures or pick a different cleanup plan. To make a written comment, you may fill out and return the enclosed form. EPA representatives will be available to answer your questions on: Date: Thursday, Feb. 22, 2007 Time: 3-5 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Place: Reddick Mansion 100 W. Lafeyette Ottawa You may also fax or e-mail your comments to: Yolanda Bouchee EPA Community Involvement Coordinator EPA Region 5 (mail code P-19J) Office of Public Affairs 77 W. Jackson Blvd. Chicago, IL 60604-3590 bouchee.yolanda@epa.gov Fax: (312) 353-1155 For questions about the site or cleanup process, call Yolanda at (800) 621-8431 Ext. 33209, weekdays 9 a.m - 4:30 p.m. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 is focusing on a city parking lot this year as part of its continuing work to clean up local spots containing radium-contaminated soil. In the proposed cleanup plan, the ,4-acre gravel, city-owned parking lot near the corner of Jefferson and Clinton streets is known as the LPI Adjacent Area. It once sat next to the Luminous Processes Inc. plant where glow-in-the- dark watch faces and dials were coated with radium paint. Under EPA's proposed cleanup plan for the LPI area, soil that contains radium-226 at concentrations above established safety levels would be dug up and disposed of in an off-site approved licensed radioactive landfill. Studies show the radium waste extends across most of the lot to a depth of 1 to 5 feet. Excavated areas estimated at 397 cubic yards of soil would then be filled in with clean dirt. Also under the proposed cleanup plan, pools of water trapped underground (called perched water in scientific terms) would be collected and treated if necessary before being released to surface streams or to Ottawa's wastewater treatment system. Tests show LPI needs to be cleaned up to reduce excessive health risks to future residents or workers if homes, offices or industries are built on the lot. The cost of this cleanup would be $720,000. All of the widely scattered waste areas around Ottawa are lumped together in EPA's National Priorities List. NPL sites are eligible for cleanup under EPA's Superfund program for the nation's most contaminated hazardous waste sites. These proposed cleanup steps for the parking lot are nearly the same as the cleanup procedures approved for some other local sites in a 2003 EPA publication called a record of decision or ROD. Because the cleanup is nearly the same, EPA hopes to speed up the normal approval process for a Superfund proposed plan by "plugging in" these LPI procedures into the 2003 ROD. 1 Under this streamlined process, EPA has set up a public comment period lasting until March 5, 2007 (see adjacent box for more details) so people can voice their opinions about the proposed cleanup plan. 1Section 117(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability' Act (CERCL4, known as the Superfund law) requires the publication of a notice announcing the proposed plan and also requires a public comment period. This fact sheet summarizes the technically written proposed plan and other site-related environmental reports that can be viewed at the Reddick Library, Ottawa, and Region 5 offices in Chicago. ------- LPI Adjacent Area Site Map ------- Locations of Individual Ottawa Radiation Areas ------- SEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency Agency Region 5 Office of Public Affairs (P-19J) 77 W. Jackson Blvd. Chicago, IL 60604-3590 OTTAWA RADIATION AREAS: Cleanup Plan Proposed for Radiation Property Reproduced on Recycled Paper Ottawa Radiation Areas history A total of 14 separate areas in and around Ottawa were found to be contaminated with radioactive waste. Some areas also were polluted by heavy metals. The radium-226 probably came from two Ottawa companies that used radium sulfate paint in making glow-in-the-dark watch dials and faces. Radium Dial Co. operated from 1920 to 1932 and Luminous Process Inc. from 1932 through 1978. During the course of manufacturing, equipment, buildings and surrounding work areas became contaminated with radium-226. And making the problem even worse, plant waste was used as fill material at various locations around Ottawa. Residential areas became EPA's cleanup priority because the radioactive contamination posed an immediate health risk. Between 1995 and 1997 EPA removed more than 40,000 tons of radium- contaminated soil from 12 of the 14 areas. The LPI Adjacent Area has the potential for future residential or commercial development. For more information A considerable file of site-related documents, engineering reports and environmental and health studies is available for public viewing at the Reddick Library, 1010 Canal St., Ottawa, or at the EPA Region 5 Records Center, 7th Floor, Metcalfe Federal Building, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago. You can also get Ottawa Radiation Areas information from the EPA Web site: www.epa.gov/region5/sites/ottawa ------- Use This Space to Write Your Comments Your comments on the proposed cleanup choice for the LPI Adjacent Area for the Ottawa Radiation Areas Superfund site are important to EPA. Public comments help EPA select a final cleanup plan. Use the form below to write your comments. Give your comments to Yolanda Bouchee at the Reddick Mansion on Feb. 22, 2007, or fold, stamp and mail your comments to Yolanda as addressed on the other side of the form. Comments must be postmarked, faxed or e-mailed no later than March 5, 2007. Name Affiliation Address City State Zip ------- LPI Adjacent Area for the Ottawa Radiation Areas Superfund Site Comment Sheet Fold on the lines, secure open bottom edge with clear tape and mail Name Place Address Stamp Here City State Zip Yolanda Bouchee EPA Community Involvement Coordinator EPA Region 5 (mail code P-19J) Office of Public Affairs 77 W. Jackson Blvd. Chicago, IL 60604-3590 ------- |