The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne, IN reports:
Nearly five years after toxic chemicals were found moving toward a middle school, the company causing the contamination has a plan to clean it up.
Wayne Metal Protection, 1511 Wabash Ave. [see map], reported polluting the soil and groundwater to Indiana’s voluntary cleanup program in the fall of 2004, but consistently missed state deadlines for investigating the extent of the contamination and forming a cleanup plan. The metal-plating company sits a few hundred feet away – and uphill – from Memorial Park Middle School, and the plume of contamination extends toward the school.
[...]
Decades of metal coating at the site have left the soil and groundwater contaminated with chlorinated solvents, which move easily in groundwater and then evaporate as a gas up through the soil.
The chemicals Wayne Metal Protection found in the soil and groundwater – tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene – have been linked to numerous health problems including spontaneous abortions, menstrual disorders, altered sperm structure and reduced fertility, miscarriages and developmental problems. They have also been connected to kidney and liver problems, can affect the nervous and immune systems and have been linked to kidney, liver and cervical cancer, according to the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
In addition, the company later reported it had found cyanide, arsenic, lead and chromium at the site, as well as vinyl chloride, which is so dangerous the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says there is no safe level of exposure.
Though the firm has submitted a plan, it will still need technical review by IDEM and a public comment period, a process that could take several more months.
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