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 and restoration of the three access ramps along the Tittabawassee River embankment.
• The decontamination and demobilization of some of the heavy equipment.
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 11 – 17, 2007:
Thursday, October 11: Dow began removing the sheet piling from around the RMU 5 area. Other work activities included the removal of the top layer of sand from the temporary haul road along the embankment of the Tittabawassee River. Surficial soil was also removed from the area which the logs were staged along the embankment of the Tittabawassee River.
Friday, October 12: Dow continued removing the sheet piling from around RMU 5. Other work activities included the continued removal of the top layer of sand from the temporary haul road and along the south and west perimeters of the dewatering pad.
Saturday, October 13 and Sunday, October 14: No site operations conducted.
Monday, October 15: Dow completed the removal of sheet piling from around RMU 5. Other work activities included the removal of the stone access ramp at RMU 1/2.
Tuesday, October 16: Dow continued the removal of sheet piling from the RMU 3 and 4 areas and continued the removal of the RMU 5 access ramp. Dow began importing logs which will be used for the stabilization of the river embankment. This stabilization activity is part of the Site Restoration activities, and will be limited to the areas of river embankment which were disturbed during the sediment removal operations.
Wednesday, October 17: Dow completed the removal of all the sheet pilings from the Tittabawassee River, and also completed the removal of the RMU 5 access ramp. Other activities included demobilizing some equipment and materials from the Site.
The following tasks are soon to be implemented:
• The removal, transportation and disposal of the sand/soil used in the construction of the temporary haul road along the river embankment.
• The decontamination and demobilization of heavy equipment.
• The construction of shoreline stabilization activities.
• The importing and application of topsoil.
• Reducing the temporary stone access road to the Site from two lanes to one lane.
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As of 10/17/07, 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 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 10/17/07, 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
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