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Old American Zinc Plant
Site Information
- Fairmont City, IL (St. Clair County)
- EPA ID# IL0000034355
- This site is not on the NPL; it is a Superfund Alternative Site (SAS)
- NPL Factsheet
- CERCLIS listing
- Alias(es): N/A
- Map (Enviromapper)
Contact Information
Community Involvement Coordinator
Janet Pope (pope.janet@epa.gov)
312-353-0628 or 800-621-8431, ext.30628
Remedial Project Manager
Sheila Desai (desai.sheila@epa.gov)
312-353-4150 or 800-621-8431, ext. 34150
Attorney
Tom Turner (turner.thomas@epa.gov)
312-886-6613 or 800-621-8431, ext. 66613
Repositories
(where to view written records)
Fairmont City Village Hall
2601 N. 41st St.
Washington Park Public Library
5103 Bunkum Road #2
Background
The Old American Zinc Plant Site is a 132-acre inactive industrial facility in Fairmont City, Illinois, located along Kingshighway, just north of East St. Louis. Areas near the site are industrial and residential. Except for a few large slag piles, a soil stockpile, and a creek; most of the on-site property is flat. Crushed limestone has been placed over the slag (a waste product of smelting furnaces previously operating on-site) in many locations to construct roadways and parking areas. Sparse vegetation over most of the property consists mainly of moss patches, but wetland plants grow along the course of a creek and in a poorly drained, low lying area in the southeast corner of the property.
From 1913 until 1967, American Zinc operated a zinc smelter facility on the site. In 1967, American Zinc moved to Sauget, Illinois. At this time, all structures were either moved, or torn down and disposed of off-site. The site remained vacant until XTRA Intermodal, Inc. leased it in 1976 from American Zinc to use the site for a truck semi-trailer leasing and storage operation. XTRA then purchased the site property in 1979. In 2003, the company discontinued its operations, and the site is currently vacant. In early 2007, XTRA planned to demolish its remaining buildings on the site and remove the debris.
In 1994, U.S. EPA tasked the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IL EPA) to conduct an Integrated Site Assessment (ISA). Groundwater migration was not thought to be a concern because most drinking water wells are located more than three miles from the contamination and are upgradient. Site surface water flows through small drainageways into a large wetland area. No contaminant airborne release was observed during the ISA, although residents complained of particulates blowing off-site. IL EPA took numerous soil samples from residential and other surrounding areas, and analyzed the samples. Many of these samples showed arsenic, cadmium, lead, and zinc at elevated levels. IL EPA also took waste samples on-site and sediment samples on and near the site. The on-site waste samples indicated methylene-chloride, semi-volatile, inorganic, and pesticide contamination. Sediment samples from creeks and wetlands indicated mostly inorganic contamination.
Site Updates | Fact Sheets || Technical Documents || Public Meetings
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Site Updates
March 2012
A Proposed Plan has been developed for the Old American Zinc Site. US EPA consulted with Illinois EPA (IEPA) on the plan. The proposal includes:
- Contaminated soil would be dug up and consolidated to a 35-acre area on the Old American Zinc Plant Superfund site.
- Removing contaminated soil from nearby properties and from Rose Creek.
- After contaminated soil and slag (a waste product of the smelting process) have been removed and consolidated, EPA plans to cover the area with clean soil and vegetation.
- There will also be drainage controls and a ban on installing new water wells or using shallow ground water.
- EPA will also monitor stormwater and ground water.
EPA selected the proposed plan from among several alternatives. Before making a final decision, US EPA and IEPA will review all comments comments received during the public comment period. EPA will respond to the comments and make those responses available. US EPA could change its recommended cleanup plan based on public comments and its consultation with IEPA.
- The public comment period runs from March 26-April 26, 2012.
- The public meeting is Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at the Fairmont City Community Center, 4001 Cookson Road.
US EPA will announce selection of a final cleanup plan in a local newspaper advertisement. Copies of the final plan will be available at the repositories and in the EPA Records Center in Chicago and on this web page.
Fact Sheets
- EPA Propone un Plan de Limpieza y Exhorta Comentarios del Público (Spanish PDF) (8pp, 2.79MB) March 2012
- EPA Proposes Cleanup Plan,Seeks Public Comments (PDF) (8pp, 2.63MB) March 2012
- Progress on Lead Cleanup Subject of Public Meeting (PDF) (2pp, 197K) December 2009
- Reunión Pública para Discutir el Progreso de la Limpieza de Plomo (PDF) (2pp, 110K) December 2009
Technical Documents
- Record of Decision (PDF) (99pp, 15.7MB) September 2012
- Proposed Plan (PDF) (36pp, 1.8MB) March 2012
- Community Involvement Plan (PDF) (44pp, 733K) April 2010
- Plan de Participación Comunitaria (PDF) (44pp, 733K) April 2010
- Public Health Assessment (PDF) (25pp, 216K) July 2003
- Community Involvement Plan (PDF) (14pp, 165K) May 2003
Public Meetings
- Transcript from Public Meeting on March 28, 2012 (PDF) (77pp, 327K) Public comment ran from March 26-April 26, 2012.
- Slide presentation from public meeting on the Proposed Cleanup Plan (PDF) (41pp, 844K) held March 28, 2012 in Fairmont City.
- Slide presentation from public meeting Update of the Site Cleanup (PDF) (21pp, 260K) held January 26, 2010 in Fairmont City.