Site Background
The Lockformer Site is located at 711 West Ogden Avenue in Lisle Illinois. The site is being investigated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and the Illinois EPA because of reported trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination caused by accidental spills on the Lockformer Company's property. The Lockformer Company has been participating in the Illinois EPA's Voluntary Site Remediation (Cleanup) Program since 1994. Illinois EPA's involvement includes overseeing the voluntary cleanup program, the ground-water investigation, and the distribution of bottled water (see the section entitled "The History of Illinois EPA Involvement and Ground-Water Sampling" below). U.S. EPA recently became involved when the Agency sent a Notice Letter to the parties considered potentially responsible for contamination at the site (referred to as PRPs). The Notice Letter, issued on June 26, 2001, invites the PRPs to negotiate a cleanup plan for the Lockformer facility with U.S. EPA. At this time, U.S. EPA's role concerns only the clean up of the facility.
Soil and ground-water characterization work is currently underway by Lockformer to further evaluate the extent of soil and ground-water contamination emanating from the areas where TCE is believed to have been spilled.
Upcoming U.S. EPA Activities
- Prepare and implement a Removal Action Work Plan to assess and mitigate the documented threats posed by contaminants found at the Lockformer Site. This Removal Action Work Plan shall include an Extent of Contamination investigation to assess the vertical and horizontal migration of the identified contaminants.
- Control access to portions of the property where contaminants have been detected or known to be disposed of to prevent exposure to workers, the public entering the facility, and to neighboring residents.
- Take necessary actions to prevent and control migration of contaminants into the ground water, soil, sewers, roadways, neighboring residences, and the St. Joseph's Creek;
- After delineating the vertical and horizontal extent of contamination, remove, treat, and properly dispose of all hazardous substances and contaminated materials at an approved facility which is in compliance with the CERCLA Off-Site Rule. Backfill all areas with clean fill to the pre-existing grade;
- Decontaminate, remove, and dispose of all tanks, scrap metal, equipment, sumps, sewers, or building floors, walls, or roof which have come into contact with or have been used to store, treat, or process any of the identified contaminants; and
- Prepare and implement a Confirmation of Cleanup Criteria Sampling Plan to determine if appropriate cleanup standards have been met.
Recent Fieldwork Activities at the Lockformer Site in Lisle, Illinois
The following investigation activities are being overseen by Illinois EPA:
May 2001
- Soil borings were drilled to investigate interior sewer lines in the manufacturing area of the Lockformer facility. Continuous soil samples were retrieved every two feet for geologic logging and chemical analysis. Two of the borings were drilled to a depth of 16 feet below ground (floor) surface. Three soil samples were collected for volatile organic compound (VOC) analysis from each of these borings.
- Work began on installation of bedrock ground-water monitoring wells in the asphalt parking lot west of the building in the vicinity of the reported spills to determine whether contaminants have migrated downward to the bedrock aquifer at this location. A steel outer well casing was then set to a depth of 51 feet below ground surface and keyed into a low permeability clay unit as a precautionary measure to prevent cross-contamination between the bedrock aquifer and shallower soil in this area known to contain contaminants.
- The former degreaser was investigated using three soil borings, up to 18 feet below floor surface. Eleven soil samples from these borings were submitted for laboratory analysis of VOCs.
- Two soil borings were drilled in the basement of the Lockformer facility, up to 16 feet below floor surface. Four soil samples from these soil borings were submitted for laboratory analysis of VOCs. A water sample was also collected for analysis of contaminants of interest.
- Eight soil borings were drilled in the area outside of the south door of the facility in the vicinity of the reported spills. These borings were drilled to an average depth of 16 feet below ground surface. A total of 24 soil samples were collected from these soil borings for laboratory analysis of VOCs.
June 2001
- A down-hole camera was used to record a continuous visual log of the bedrock borehole section of each deep monitoring well. This video was used to determine the locations, and extent of fractures within the bedrock section of each deep well. These results determined the ideal placement of the apparatus for testing and sample collection.
- Testing and ground-water sampling was conducted at various vertical intervals in bedrock wells to evaluate aquifer permeability, extent of fracturing, and the presence of contaminants in the bedrock aquifer. Water samples were also collected for analysis of contaminants of interest.
- Shallow ground-water sampling was conducted to sample for constituents of interest.
- Sediment samples were collected from three manholes and catch basins on the western portion of the Lockformer property. Sediment samples were submitted for laboratory analysis of VOCs.
Investigation activities will continue into July and August 2001 and will include additional testing and ground-water sampling on bedrock monitoring wells in the vicinity of the site; new wells on property west of the facility; aquifer pump testing; and data analysis and evaluation.
The History of Illinois EPA Involvement and Ground-Water Sampling
Lockformer Company has been in Illinois EPA's Voluntary Site Remediation Program since December 1994. The company asked for Illinois EPA oversight of an investigation of on-site TCE (industrial solvent: trichloroethylene) contamination. Lockformer has claimed, and continues to claim, that there is no chance of their TCE getting to private wells south of the nearby Burlington Railroad.
Lockformer first informed local officials of the on-site TCE problem in 1999, when they asked the Village of Lisle to pass an ordinance banning private wells near the plant. A resident south of the plant had his well sampled the summer of 2000 and found low levels of TCE. Lockformer paid to hook the home up to public water. Numerous other nearby residents hired an attorney, who had an environmental consultant sample 30+ wells south of the plant in October & November 2000. Six of these wells had TCE exceeding U.S. drinking water standards (5 parts per billion, for TCE), and dozens of others had detectable TCE. The law firm has since filed a federal suit, which has been certified for class-action status for the residents in homes just south of the plant.
In December 2000, Illinois EPA sampled 48 additional wells, found TCE exceeding federal drinking water standards in 9 additional wells and at lower levels in at least 25 others. As in the earlier sampling, only TCE was detected at significant concentrations, not other industrial solvents or any of the commonly seen biological-breakdown products of TCE. Illinois EPA referred a case to the Illinois Attorney General in January 2001, and an Agreed Preliminary Injunction Order was entered by the Circuit Court on 1/22/01. The Order required Lockformer to provide bottled water to 115 homes with wells in and near the identified contaminated area, starting 1/19/01. It also requires the company to submit a work plan for tracking on-site contamination and investigating the extent of any off-site contamination.
Illinois EPA sampled 9 additional wells 1/23/01 and about 90 more wells the last week of January, attempting to further define the extent of contamination in the area. Results defined the general limits of the contamination in the neighborhood immediately south of the plant and showed no contamination in wells located northeast and northwest of the plant. Wells in Lisle Farms subdivision just south of Maple Avenue also had no detectable TCE. However, some wells in Woodridge Estates had detectable levels of TCE (and again, only TCE), though not exceeding the federal drinking water standard. In late February the area of Woodridge Estates east of Kingston Avenue was added to the court-ordered provision of bottled water. Follow-up sampling in early March and early May showed that wells on and west of Kingston Avenue did not have detectable TCE, but that most wells on and east of Elm Street did have detectable TCE. The highest TCE levels found in Woodridge Estates were about 1.5 parts per billion.
Illinois EPA next investigated Suburban Estates, southeast of Woodridge Estates near the Interstate 355 Tollway exit for Hobson Road and 63rd Street. Sampling of all the wells in this area in early March and early May 2001 showed the majority of wells had detectable TCE -- again showing only TCE -- and again with the highest levels about 1.5 parts per billion. Although the Suburban Estates area has not been formally added to the court order for the provision of bottled water, Lockformer has been voluntarily providing bottled water for the residents in that area since late March. Illinois EPA sampling in May also provided initial evidence, which must be followed up with additional investigation, suggesting that the eastern edge of the TCE plume may have reached beyond the Tollway. TCE was found in wells near the corner of Walnut Avenue and 59th Street, and also in two wells sampled on Janes Avenue north of 63rd Street.
Illinois EPA plans sampling in mid-July that should help to define the eastern edge of the plume in the areas near Woodridge Estates and Suburban Estates. Wells on Hobson Road between Janes and the Tollway will be sampled, as well as those on Janes and Leonard Streets between 63rd Street and Hobson Road. Potentially affected wells on 63rd and 62nd Streets will also be sampled. Additional wells will also be sampled north and east of the corner of 59th Street and Walnut.
Numerous monitoring wells have been installed on Lockformer's property, and on its parent company's adjacent property to the west. Those wells are currently (6/01) being sampled. Illinois EPA is also overseeing on-site investigations of soil contamination, including soil-borings in areas of the plant where TCE was used extensively.
Information Repository
U.S. EPA is in the process of establishing an information repository for the Lockformer Site in Lisle. The information repository will contain the documents, brochures, and other information relevant to the investigation and cleanup of the Lockformer Site.
