The River Forest Cleaners is located at 7613 Lake Street, in River Forest, Illinois. The facility is in a commercial area but residential properties are within 200 feet. The cleaners has adjacent businesses to the east and west, and a private school is located directly across the street. A dry cleaners has been at this location since 1928. The current owner of the property conducted an environmental assessment 2001, which identified releases of tetrachoroethylene(Perc) and trichloroethylene(TCE) into the ground, and groundwater under the facility. Subsequent investigations in 2004,2005, and 2009 have indicated soil contamination has expanded around the location, through subsurface sand formations, and along utility pathways to the east. A groundwater monitoring well located to the southeast shows Perc concentrations increasing from 340 ppb to 11,000 ppb from 2001 to 2009, possibly due to its proximity to the sewer line, since groundwater flow has been determined to move to the northeast. The highest soil level for Perc is at 940,000 ppb, located directly under the dry cleaner site.
The site was enrolled in the Illinois EPA Site Remediation Program in June of 2004, with the site owner eligible for the Illinois Drycleaner Environmental Response Trust Fund ( for up to $300,000 in approved remediation costs). No remediation plans have been approved by the Illinois EPA at this time.
The possibility of vapor intrusion to surrounding buildings has not been investigated by the property owner (RP). Recent meetings of the Village Board and various news articles have heighten concern over the site and its potential impact on the safety of the surrounding communtiy.
A formal complaint from a teacher at the School across the street has initiated a limited vapor intrusion assessment by USEPA. Vapor intrusion sampling was conducted at the school to the north, and at a childrens play gym which is west of the facility. These locations were chosen based on proximity to the site, and the sensitive nature of the population. Additional sampling will likely be conducted to further define the extent of any potential vapor intrusion problem.
Results of the vapor intrusion assessments will be posted in the documents section of this web site.
