United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region V
POLLUTION REPORT

Subject: 

On June 27, 2007, U.S. EPA ordered The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) to negotiate an Administrative Order on Consent, to address removal of extremely elevated levels of dioxin-contaminated sediment from within Reach O of the Tittabawassee River near Midland, Michigan.  Dow agreed to the terms of the Order and on July 12, 2007, the Order was signed by the Regional Administrator and Dow.  For additional background information please see the site profile.

On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) Jim Augustyn is providing oversight with assistance from U.S. EPA’s START Contractor, Weston Solutions, Inc.

The following tasks are currently on going:

• The collection of turbidity measurements from meters in the Tittabawassee River in order to compare downstream turbidity measurements with background turbidity.
• The removal of sheet piling from the RMU 3 and RMU 4 areas.
• The reconstruction of the access ramp to the RMU 5 area in preparation for the removal of the sheet piling.

To view a map that depicts current site progress, please visit the Document Section of this website and open the document titled "Site features map".

The following tasks have been completed by Dow during the period from October 3 – October 10, 2007:

Thursday, October 4: Dow completed the installation of the sheet piling around RMU 5 area and continued pumping river water from inside the enclosed area.  Dow completed the construction of the access ramp from the shore to RMU 5 area. Removal of impacted sediment from RMU 5 began. Dow began discharging Batch #3 of treated wastewater and collected a water sample for TSS and TEQ laboratory analysis.

Friday, October 5: Excavation of the cellulosic material from RMU 5 area was completed. The EPA and Dow conducted a visual inspection of the area and collected post excavation sediment samples. Dow transported the remaining sediment from the RMU 4 area, the temporary dewatering pad, and all sediment excavated from RMU 5 area to the Salzburg Road Landfill for disposal.

Saturday, October 6 and Sunday, October 7: No Site operations conducted.

Monday, October 8: Logs removed from all five RMU areas were moved and staged inside the dewatering pad. Dow removed the remaining pieces of sheet piling from the northeast corner of RMU 1/2 area and started site restoration activities on the sand borrow area located approximately ¼ mile north of the site.

Tuesday, October 9:  Dow continued the relocation of the logs to the dewatering pad and began the reconstruction of the access ramp in preparation for the removal of the sheet piling from RMU 5.

Wednesday, October 10: Dow completed the movement of the logs to the dewatering pad. Residual material was removed from the logs in preparation for disposal at the Municipal Landfill. Approximately 266 logs were staged in the dewatering pad. Dow completed the reconstruction of the access ramp to RMU 5 and remobilized equipment in preparation for the removal of the sheet piling from the area.

The following tasks are soon to be implemented:

• The removal of the sheet pilings from the RMU 5 area.
• The removal, transportation and disposal of the soil used in the construction of the temporary haul roads and dewatering pad.
• The development and implementation of a Site Restoration Plan.
• The decontamination and demobilization of heavy equipment.

As of 10/10/07, Dow has removed and transported to the landfill approximately 15,246 in-place cubic yards of impacted sediment from the Reach O site. A total of 847 loads, estimated at 18 in-place cubic yards per load, have been transported to the Salzburg Road Landfill for disposal. The following disposed waste dredged and disposed from the Reach O area includes:

8/31/2007 6 loads 150 in-place cubic yards
9/7/2007 84 loads 1,512 in-place cubic yards
9/8/2007 174 loads 4,350 in-place cubic yards
9/10/2007 33 loads 825 in-place cubic yards
9/15/2007 71 loads 1,278 in-place cubic yards
9/16/2007 76 loads 1,368 in-place cubic yards
9/18/2007 164 loads 2,952 in-place cubic yards
9/24/2007      162 loads          2,916 in-place cubic yards
10/5/2007 77 loads 1,386 in-place cubic yards

As of 10/10/07, Dow has treated and discharged approximately 48,942 gallons of water. The wastewater treatment process includes settling and filtration using 25 and 10 micron filters. Samples are collected continuously during the discharging process and tested for Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Total Equivalent (TEQ) concentrations of dioxin and furans. The following quantity of water discharged from the Reach O treatment operations include:

9/14/2007             Batch 1 18,311 gallons discharged
9/24/2007               Batch 2              7,953 gallons discharged
10/4/2007        Batch 3 22,678 gallons discharged