The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced the final plan to clean up contaminated soil and sediment at the Hegeler Zinc Superfund site south of Danville.
The EPA’s cleanup will involve excavating contaminated soil and sediment and adding it to an existing slag pile or disposing it off-site. The Agency will then install a low permeability cover over the pile, reroute portions of a creek to ensure a safe distance from the slag pile, and continue monitoring groundwater and surface water in the area.
The contamination was discovered to have come from a former smelting facility which produced sulfuric acid and cadmium which resulted in large amounts of slag being stored onsite. The EPA found that soil, sediment, ground water and surface water in the area are contaminated with cadmium, lead, arsenic and zinc.
The design phase of the clean-up will start in about six to eight months and is expected to last two years. The Environmental Protection Agency expects the construction work in the area will take about three years to complete.
In 2015 the Environmental Protection Agency began a cleanup of residential properties affected in the Hegeler area. The cleanup of those residential properties was completed in 2016. It involved digging up and removing contaminated soil and then backfilling excavated properties. A review found the cleanup continues to protect residents and the environment. The next scheduled review will be in 2025.
(Note: The photo is a file photo from when the residential area cleanup was underway.)
