Amcast Industrial Corporation Site

Site Information

Cedarburg, WI (Ozaukee County)
EPA ID# WIN000510210
NPL Site Narrative
CERCLIS listing
NPL Factsheet
Alias(es): N/A
Photos

Contact Information

Community Involvement Coordinator
Susan Pastor (pastor.susan@epa.gov)
312-353-1325 or 800-621-8431, ext. 31325

Remedial Project Manager
Scott Hansen (hansen.scott@epa.gov)
312-886-1999 or 800-621-8431, ext. 61999

Assistant Regional Counsel
Richard Nagle (nagle.richard@epa.gov)
312-353-8222 or 800-621-8431, ext. 38222

Wisconsin DNR State Project Manager
Margaret Brunette
(margaret.brunette@wisconsin.gov) 414-263-8557

Repositories

(where to view written records)

Cedarburg City Hall
W63 N645 Washington Ave.
Cedarburg, Wis.

Cedarburg Public Library
W63 N583 Hanover Ave.
Cedarburg, Wis.

Links

EPA Superfund Home Page
Region 5 Superfund

Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry

Background

The Amcast Industrial Corp. site is in the historic city and township of Cedarburg (Ozaukee County) in southeastern Wisconsin in a suburban residential area north of Milwaukee. Amcast was a local automotive industry supplier on Hamilton Road in Cedarburg.

The company first declared bankruptcy in 2004 and then again in 2005. The entire site consists of the Amcast facility, sewers near the former plant, a retention pond southeast of Amcast, a pond in nearby Zeunert Park, and some private properties to the southeast. Amcast had a plant that emptied PCBs into the creek via storm sewers. One of them emptied into Hamilton Pond, upstream of Green Bay Road. Due to heavy rains and high creek flow in 1996, the Hamilton Dam collapsed and was removed. The pond was drained leaving behind several acres of mud flats containing PCBs.

The sewers and soil under the building were sampled in November 2005. Since Amcast had filed for bankruptcy, its contractor was told to stop working and the results were never analyzed. Soil samples were also taken on private properties near the Amcast plant in summer 2005. Some of those samples showed PCB contamination slightly above what EPA considers to be safe levels.

The Amcast property investigation was originally being done as part of the Cedar Creek site. It came to a halt when the company filed for bankruptcy. EPA is committed to cleaning up Amcast and the surrounding area which is why they were combined to encompass one separate Superfund site.

Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) and Community Advisory Group (CAG) are two ways the community can get involved. Learn more about CAGs and TAGs

Join our mailing list or provide feedback:
Please send email to pastor.susan@epa.gov

What are PCBs?

PCBs, polychlorinated biphenyls, are toxic chemicals that were once widely used as industrial coolants, insulators and lubricants. PCBs can concentrate in the environment and the food chain, resulting in health hazards to people, fish and wildlife. Because of these dangers, the U.S. government banned the manufacture of new PCBs in 1976. PCBs still in use are strictly regulated.

PCB Information

EPA's PCB home page
PCBs and your health (WI DHFS)
Toxicological profile for PCBs
Tox FAQs for PCBs

Site Updates | News Releases || Technical Documents

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Site Updates

Latest Update: October 2012

Results from soil samples taken last year on the Amcast property, as well as on nearby private properties between Hamilton Road and Wilshire Drive, are being reviewed. This information will be detailed in a document called a remedial investigation report which should be available to the public this winter. In addition to taking samples on two areas referred to as the "north and south properties," EPA contractors focused on:

The Quarry Pond in Zeunert Park
Residential yards southeast of Amcast north
Wilshire Pond southeast of the residential yards
Storm sewers that connect these areas to the former main plant
Ground water well installations on the Amcast property

The remedial investigation report will be the basis for another document called a "feasibility study.” This study will examine several possible cleanup options as well as recommend one that appears to be the most appropriate. A proposed plan to clean up the Amcast property and surrounding private properties is expected to be available for public comment in early 2014. A final cleanup decision should be made later that year.