The Lincoln Metals Site (the Site) is an inactive brass foundry that operated in Lincoln, Talladega County, Alabama from 1956 to 2001. The facility was built circa 1947.
The Site includes a 1.73 acre fenced foundry, two residential properties, a public park and an adjacent drainage ditch. The old foundry property is located at 248 Foundry Road, in the City of Lincoln, Talladega County, Alabama. The old foundry contains one dilapidated building, of approximately 21,000 square feet. Within the building structure there exist heavy machinery including; silos, ore milling and processing stations, electric arc melting pots, and other industry equipment used in the foundry process. External to the building there are areas where contaminated process material is buried and piled. Areas within the fenced foundry property include partially covered sand piles, areas where remnants of slag, broken sand casting ladles, sand caste molds, faucet fittings fragments, and piles of other process debris which have been abandoned.
Contamination from the foundry property has migrated off-site via surface water migration patterns. The off-site contamination is being displaced to the lowest and least obstructed path into an adjacent drainage ditch. The drainage is consistent with the surrounding flooding and surface water flow patterns, all of which flow from southeast to northwest, across the property and into the adjacent drainage ditch.
The geological formations at the Site provide a north-northwest ground/surface water flow across the Site. Groundwater depth ranges from zero to 25 feet, averaging six (6) to ten (10) feet below the land surface. The Site is located at 33o36’54” north latitude and 86o06’40” west longitude.
On January 19, 2005, ADEM submitted a CERCLIS Pre-Screening report for the Heartland Faucet / Lincoln Metals facility to EPA Region 4’s CERCLA Remedial program. By 2006, ADEM indicated that all State means of addressing the concerns at this Site had been exhausted. In December 2006, the Lincoln Metals facility was referred to ERRB for further assessment.
In January 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Emergency Response and Removal Branch’s (ERRB) On-Scene Coordinators (OSC) conducted a Removal Site Evaluation (RSE) at the Site. The RSE and analytical results, determined that CERCLA hazardous substances (lead, arsenic and chromium) exist and continue to migrate from the old foundry property to the adjacent drainage pathway causing a potential threat to the environment and public health.
Removal activities for this reporting period include:
- Emergency Response and Removal Services (ERRS) contractor began Site preperation activities. Site preparation included; construction of gravel access roads, installation of perimeter site fencing, office trailer set-up, and scheduling of personnel, equipment, on-site security and specialty services.
- Initial activities included removal of vegetation, trees, and scrubs located along the western perimeter of the site.
- The ERRS contractor used heavy equipment to segregate the existing stock piles into five (5) 200 cubic yard sections.
- ERRS contractor utilized heavy machinery to remove debris, office furniture, small and large operational equipment, and lighting fixtures from the former facility.
- The ERRS contractor also began to dismantle and decontaminate the inside of the old foundry building.
- The ERRS contractor pressure washed the interior of the building in an effort to minimize dust during the demolition process.
- Superfund Technical Assessment and Removal Team (START) contractor mobilize to the site.
- START conducted oversight, implementation of site-specific HASP, air monitoring, confirmation sampling and documentation. START is currently utilizing perimeter air monitoring and personnel monitoring equipment to measure interior building particulates.
- Planned removal actions include demolition of the former facility and segregation of material and chemicals into proper waste streams for disposal.
- Treatment of the contaminated soils utilizing phosphates and transport the non-hazardous material off site for disposal.
- START will continue to monitor the air emissions and water discharge from the Site during the entire removal process.
- Excavation of surface soils or sands in areas within the old foundry’s fence line;
- Excavation in areas along the north end of the foundry fence line where soils or sands have migrated beyond the fence line onto the adjacent drainage ditch in a westward direction;
- Excavation in residential areas, surrounding the Site;
- On-Site stabilization of soils and debris, as necessary, before transportation to approved disposal facilities;
The removal action at the Site has received limited media coverage. The Talladega Daily Home newspaper has run a headline article on May 16, 2008. Both the Daily Home and The Birmingham Channel 13, NBC Affiliate have conducted interviews with EPA's public affairs office as of May 16, 2008.
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