United States Region 5 Illinois, Indiana, Environmental Protection 77 West Jackson Blvd. Michigan, Minnesota, Agency Chicago, Illinois 60604 Ohio, Wisconsin SB>A FACT SHEET U.S. EPA ACCELERATES CLEANUP AT BETTER BRITE CHROME & ZINC SHOPS FEBRUARY 1993 EPA Region 5 Records Ctr. BSTHOPUCPON 347917 The United States Environmental Protection (U.S. EPA), in cooperation with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), is accelerating certain aspects of the cleanup at the Better Brite Chrome and Zinc Shops, DePere, WI. Since September 1992, U.S. EPA removed waste material inside the Zinc Shop building, dismantled the building, and disposed of the concrete foundation. Also, contaminated soil beneath and adjacent to the building have been properly disposed of in a facility designed to accept such wastes. U.S. EPA officially turned over the Better Brite project to the WDNR in October 1991 to continue operation and maintenance of the ground-water treatment facility at the Chrome Shop and to begin its long-term ground-water investigation. However, U.S. EPA is expanding its previous cleanup activities to quickly reduce potential threats to residents* health and the environment. Such threats may have been caused by contaminated soil at both sites. Ground water will still be contaminated, but U.S. EPA and WDNR believe that cleaning up the soil and expanding the ground-water collection systems now will help prevent additional contamination and will speed up final ground-water cleanup efforts. U.S. EPA and WDNR will bold a public meeting to explain recently completed removal activities, progress on WDNRY long-term IE-IB ------- RECENTLY COMPLETED CLEANUP ACTIVITIES In addition to excavating contaminated soil, U.S. EPA has accomplished many other facets of the cleanup. Before field work began in September, a trailer/office for both sites was located at the Chrome Shop. Next, the Zinc Shop building was dismantled, and its concrete foundation were removed. Sampling throughout the Zinc and Chrome sites was then done to determine the extent of soil contamination. Finally, contaminated ground water is continuously being transported from the Zinc site to the treatment plant at the Chrome site. To date, approximately 100,000 gallons from the Zinc site have been treated there. CURRENT AND FUTURE CLEANUP ACTIVITIES Improvements to the ground-water collection systems at the Zinc Shop are underway. These improvements will minimize the potential for contaminating the nearby municipal well. Soil at the Chrome Shop is being sampled further to determine areas in need of excavation. This work is expected to be completed by June. Once the concrete foundations and contaminated soils are removed at both sites, the excavated areas will be covered with clay and topsoil. When U.S. EPA's activities are completed this Summer, the project "lead" will be returned to the WDNR so it may resume its long-term, ground-water treatment and investigation. Removal of contaminated soil and improvement of the ground-water collection system will shorten the term of the ground-water cleanup. FOR MORE INFORMATION The following representatives may be contacted for further information about the Better Brite Chrome and Zinc Shops: Susan Pastor, P-19J Community Relations Coord. (312) 353-1325 David Linnear, HSRW-6J Remedial Project Mgr. (312) 886-1841 U.S. EPA 77 W. Jackson Blvd. Chicago, IL 60604 Toll Free: 1-800-621-8431 Cara Norland-Shultz Terry Koehn State Community Relations Coord. State Project Coord. WDNR WDNR P.O. Box 7921 1125 N. Military Av. Madison, WI 53707 Green Bay, WI 54307 (608) 267-0540 (414) 492-5869 ------- |