Bowers Landfill

Site Information

Circleville, OH (Pickaway County)
EPA ID# OHD980509616
NPL Site Narrative (PDF) (2pp, 26K)
NPL Factsheet
Superfund Site Progress Profile
Alias(es): Island Road Landfill

Contact Information

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

Remedial Project Manager
Dion Novak (novak.dion@epa.gov)
312-886-4737 or 800-621-8431, ext. 64737 )

Repositories

(where to view written records)

Pickaway County District Public Library
1160 N. Court St.
Circleville, OH

Links

EPA Superfund Home Page
Region 5 Superfund
Superfund Frequent Questions

Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry

Background

The 12-acre Bowers Landfill on Rock Island Road in Circleville, Ohio operated as a pit for gravel excavation operations beginning in 1958.but its owners converted it to a landfill to accept domestic refuse. From 1958 to 1968, it accepted residential, grain elevator, and industrial waste. Disposal practices eventually consisted of depositing waste and chemicals directly onto the ground and covering them with soil. Waste also was burned on-site. In 1980, EPA found that contaminants in the landfill were polluting nearby monitoring wells with volatile organic compounds. Approximately 60 people lived within 1/2 mile of the site.

On-site ground water contained heavy metals including barium and manganese as well as VOCs. Sediment was contaminated with PCBs, pesticides, VOCs, and lead. On-site soil contamination was caused by lead and PCBs. Off-site soil contained heavy metals including arsenic. Surface water was contaminated with VOCs, PAHs, and heavy metals.

The cleanup was completed in 1993 and included:

removing and disposing of all surface debris
improving erosion control and drainage
installing a natural clay cover over the landfill
installing a topsoil layer over the clay cover and protecting it from flood damage
installing new ground water monitoring wells
sampling ground water to determine if there was an increase in contaminant levels
installing a fence to discourage tresspassing

Site Updates || Technical Documents | Five-Year Reviews || Legal Documents

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Site Updates

June 2012

EPA has completed a status review of the cleanup. This type of review is required at least every five years where the cleanup is complete but hazardous waste remains managed on-site. These reviews are done to ensure that the cleanup continues to protect people and the environment.

The review included:

An evaluation of background information
Cleanup requirements
Effectiveness of the cleanup and any anticipated future actions
An analysis of ways for EPA to operate more efficiently

The review found that the cleanup continues to protect people and the environment. This was the fourth five-year review for Bowers Landfill. The next scheduled review will be in 2017.