On May 11, 2009, a fire broke out in Building 4 of the Columbus Chemical Industries (CCI) facility on Temkin Road in Columbus (Dodge County), WI. Due to the types of chemicals present in the building on fire, officials decided to let the fire burn rather than fight the fire with water or foam. The fire continued to burn until the overnight hours on May 14, 2009. The Site was returned to Columbus Chemical on May 14, 2009.
See previous POLREPs for additional background information.
CCI and their insurer, AIG, retained a team of nationally recognized consultants and chemists to concurrently conduct the fire investigation and clean-up the fire debris. Continuing chemical reactions in the fire debris required in-situ neutralization prior to containerization and removal. The fire investigation concluded on May 29, 2009. Containerization of all fire debris (excluding the building structure) was completed on May 31, 2009. Buildings 4 and 5 were demolished immediately thereafter. On-site and perimeter air monitoring during the fire debris clean-up and building demolition was conducted by the Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health. U.S. EPA and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) closely oversaw the clean-up of the site.
Plans for transport and disposal of the fire debris continue to be developed by CCI and its waste consultant, EQ. Contaminated soil under the building slabs and in the runoff path is being evaluated and will be excavated/remediated as necessary.
WDNR is overseeing the waste and building debris disposal and contaminated soil evaluation/remediation.
WDNR gave approval to send the ash debris, concrete, and soil to EQ’s hazardous waste landfill in Michigan. MDEQ, however, denied entry of the waste. CCI and EQ are working to identify an alternate location for the waste streams from the clean-up.
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