The Site is a former charter school and daycare that closed after a fire in 2013. The City of Milwaukee foreclosed on the building in July, 2016 and asked EPA for assistance with abandoned containers, mercury, hazardous incinerator ash, contaminated sump water, and friable asbestos. Airborne asbestos throughout the school was over four times the OSHA Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) prior to the removal. Despite the City’s extensive efforts to secure the building, there is rampant trespassing at the Site.
EPA started the removal action on April 24, 2017. During the removal action, hazardous waste abandoned at the Site was segregated, characterized, and sent off-site for proper disposal. Friable asbestos was removed and/or secured. Air monitoring verified conditions inside the school are now below the PEL, no longer requiring respiratory protection. The removal action was completed on August 8, 2017.
The City of Milwaukee is hoping to preserve the historic building.
