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Other Contaminants Superfund Sites MIMichigan Superfund Site: North Bronson Industrial Area
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Are you in need of a Toxic Tort Attorney in The Great Lakes State? The U.S. E.P.A. has designated North Bronson Industrial Area in Michigan as a Superfund site due to its levels of toxic pollution and harm to the natural world. You can read the report for the site below.
Some Superfund sites are on the National Priority Site Lists. The National Priorities List ("NPL") is the list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for long-term remedial action financed under the federal Superfund program. Environmental Protection Agency regulations outline a formal process for assessing hazardous waste sites and placing them on the NPL. The NPL is intended primarily to guide the EPA in determining which sites warrant further investigation.
Sites are listed on the NPL upon completion of Hazard Ranking System (HRS) screening, public solicitation of comments about the proposed site, and after all comments have been addressed. EPA may delete a final NPL site if it determines that no further response is required to protect human health or the environment. Sites where a remediation was completed through the Superfund program are typically deleted from the NPL.
Living near Superfund Sites in Michigan may place you and the people you love at risk of getting sick from proximity to the site and experiencing a loss of value for your property, but action is being taken to fight back: The EPA says,
[We have] set up a "Post Construction Completion" (or PCC) strategy to ensure that Superfund response actions provide for the long-term protection of human health and the environment. EPA's Post Construction Completion activities also involve optimizing remedies to increase effectiveness and/or reduce cost without sacrificing long-term protection of human health and the environment.Regardless, most of the Superfund sites are still very dangerous to the well-being of local residents.
When you rely on Weitz & Luxenberg, you benefit from the legal ability of accomplished Toxic Tort lawyers who will help fight back against polluters and get you and your community the financial compensation and environmental remediation to which you are entitled.
Below you can read the EPA report for the North Bronson Industrial Area Superfund site. If you, a loved one, or someone in your community has gotten sick due to toxic pollution in North Bronson Industrial Area, or if your property has lost value because of contamination, you are better off with a toxic tort lawyer who knows the people of the State of Michigan . Get started by filling out this simple form. There is no obligation, and your case will be evaluated within one day. To refer a friend, neighbor, or loved one, follow this link to let them know about the environmental toxic tort attorneys at Weitz & Luxenberg.
North Bronson Industrial Area
This site is not a Federal Facility.
Site Responsibility:
This site is being addressed through federal and state actions.
NPL Listing History:
Proposed Date: 10/15/84
Final Date: 06/10/86
Threats and Contaminants
High levels of trichloroethylene, dichloroethylene, and vinyl chloride as well as elevated levels of heavy metals and cyanide, have been detected in private and groundwater monitoring wells in the area. Polychlorinated biphenyls and metals such as cadmium have been found in sediment samples downstream of the old lagoons. Lagoon sludge contains heavy metals, including cadmium, chromium, and lead. Municipal wells are located upgradient of the site with only a remote chance of site contaminants reaching these wells. Accidental ingestion of or direct contact with, the contaminated groundwater, sediment, and sludge could pose a health threat to people.Cleanup Progress
In 1988, action was taken to eliminate immediate threats by removing from service private wells found to be contaminated with metals and volatile organic compounds. Alternate water supplies were provided to the affected residences. In 1993 and 1994, United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Technical Assessment Teams were dispatched to the site. During the 1993 visit, the site was evaluated for immediate threats to human health. In several of the remaining buildings, waste piles, vats and drums were identified, characterized and secured. In 1994, the vats were pumped clean, and the drums were overpacked and removed from the site. The vats were covered and the buildings were secured to prevent trespassing.
The Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (FS) was conducted under State Lead-Fund Financed activities. Cleanup options to address the lagoons and the drain (Operable Unit 1; OU1) were evaluated and a decision on the final cleanup remedy was made in June 1998 in a Record of Decision (ROD) signed by Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and U.S. EPA. The selected remedy is to consolidate contaminated soils into one area of the western lagoons, dredge sediments from the County Drain #30 and consolidate them in that area as well, and to construct a Wetland to treat groundwater from the lagoon area.
Remedial Design and Remedial Action (RD/RA) negotiations with Responsible Parties (RPs) began a week after the ROD was signed and a Consent Decree (CD) was signed by U.S. EPA and the five RPs. RD began in February 2000, with the first task being Pre-Design Studies (PDS). Field Work for PDS took place between February 2001 and March 2001, including the installation of new monitoring wells, abandonment of wells, sampling sediment and development of new wells.
The Draft PDS Report was submitted in July 2001 for U.S. EPA and MDEQ review and comment. The revised report was submitted on November 5, 2001 and did not meet the requirements of the Statement of Work and CD. Per a request from U.S. EPA, the Draft Phase II PDS Work Plan was submitted on May 20, 2002, which included additional field studies north and south of the County drain #30. The final Phase II PDS Work Plan was submitted in July, 2002. Field work took place in August 2002. EPA received the Draft Phase II PDS Technical Memorandum in December 2002 The revised PDS is expected to be completed in Spring 2004. The RD is expected to be completed in Spring 2005. RA is expected to begin shortly thereafter.
Operable Unit 2 (OU2) consists of the Industrial Sewer that was used by the industries to transport their liquid wastes to the waste lagoons. MDEQ began investigations of the sewer in September 1996 and subsequently sampled again in May 1998. Results of these 2 sampling activities are reported in Technical Memorandums for the Industrial Sewer. U.S. EPA began negotiations with the RPs in September 2000, for the FS. As a result of these Negotiations, U.S. EPA and the RPs agreed to evaluate upstream source areas "abandoned facilities" prior to completing work on Industrial sewer.
Remedial Project Manager
Terese Van Donsel
(312) 353-6564
vandonsel.terese@epa.gov
Community Involvement Coordinator
Cheryl Allen
(312) 353-6196
allen.cheryl@epa.gov
The detailed Administrative Record can be examined at the following location(s):
Bronson Public Library
207 North Matteson Street
Bronson, Michigan 49028
(517) 369-3785
The North Bronson Industrial Area (NBIA) site, located in Branch County, Bronson, Michigan, consists of two lagoon areas and a county drain which runs adjacent to the lagoons. Several industries in the area discharged plating and other industrial wastes to seepage lagoons between 1939 and 1981. An industrial sewer system was used to transport plating wastes to both sets of lagoons, which were owned and maintained by the city of Bronson. The seepage lagoons are no longer used for waste disposal; however, they contain an estimated 130,000 cubic yards of heavy metal sludges.
The majority of the city of Bronson is within a one-mile radius of the old lagoons at the NBIA site. The area surrounding the site is mixed industrial and residential; north of the site is primarily rural. The majority of the residents in the area of the site are connected to the municipal water supply system, though an estimated 3,000 people within three miles of the site use wells as a source of drinking water. The primary supply wells are located approximately 5,000 feet west of the site and are screened in the upper aquifer.
In 1988, action was taken to eliminate immediate threats by removing from service private wells found to be contaminated with metals and volatile organic compounds. Alternate water supplies were provided to the affected residences. In 1993 and 1994, United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Technical Assessment Teams were dispatched to the site. During the 1993 visit, the site was evaluated for immediate threats to human health. In several of the remaining buildings, waste piles, vats and drums were identified, characterized and secured. In 1994, the vats were pumped clean, and the drums were overpacked and removed from the site. The vats were covered and the buildings were secured to prevent trespassing.
The Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (FS) was conducted under State Lead-Fund Financed activities. Cleanup options to address the lagoons and the drain (Operable Unit 1; OU1) were evaluated and a decision on the final cleanup remedy was made in June 1998 in a Record of Decision (ROD) signed by Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and U.S. EPA. The selected remedy is to consolidate contaminated soils into one area of the western lagoons, dredge sediments from the County Drain #30 and consolidate them in that area as well, and to construct a Wetland to treat groundwater from the lagoon area.
Remedial Design and Remedial Action (RD/RA) negotiations with Responsible Parties (RPs) began a week after the ROD was signed and a Consent Decree (CD) was signed by U.S. EPA and the five RPs. RD began in February 2000, with the first task being Pre-Design Studies (PDS). Field Work for PDS took place between February 2001 and March 2001, including the installation of new monitoring wells, abandonment of wells, sampling sediment and development of new wells.
The Draft PDS Report was submitted in July 2001 for U.S. EPA and MDEQ review and comment. The revised report was submitted on November 5, 2001 and did not meet the requirements of the Statement of Work and CD. Per a request from U.S. EPA, the Draft Phase II PDS Work Plan was submitted on May 20, 2002, which included additional field studies north and south of the County drain #30. The final Phase II PDS Work Plan was submitted in July, 2002. Field work took place in August 2002. EPA received the Draft Phase II PDS Technical Memorandum in December 2002 The revised PDS is expected to be completed in Spring 2004. The RD is expected to be completed in Spring 2005. RA is expected to begin shortly thereafter.
Operable Unit 2 (OU2) consists of the Industrial Sewer that was used by the industries to transport their liquid wastes to the waste lagoons. MDEQ began investigations of the sewer in September 1996 and subsequently sampled again in May 1998. Results of these 2 sampling activities are reported in Technical Memorandums for the Industrial Sewer. U.S. EPA began negotiations with the RPs in September 2000, for the FS. As a result of these Negotiations, U.S. EPA and the RPs agreed to evaluate upstream source areas "abandoned facilities" prior to completing work on Industrial sewer.
Community Involvement Coordinator
Cheryl Allen
(312) 353-6196
allen.cheryl@epa.gov
The detailed Administrative Record can be examined at the following location(s):
Bronson Public Library
207 North Matteson Street
Bronson, Michigan 49028
(517) 369-3785
source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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see also:
North Bronson Industrial Area
Environmental Pollution in Michigan- Site: North Bronson Industrial AreaNorth Bronson Industrial Area Superfund Site Info - Fight Air Pollution, Water Pollution
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Michigan Superfund Sites: Na - NzMichigan Superfund Site Info - Fight Air Pollution, Water Pollution
