The Prairieland Steel Site is located southeast of the intersection of Illinois Route 97 and Illinois Route 78 in Havana, Mason County, Illinois.
The Site is currently composed of at least five separate parcels. Four of the parcels are under private ownership. The former rail right of way, which roughly forms the border of the site, is owned by the City of Havana.
A review of Sandborn maps revealed that industrial processes have taken place on at least one parcel of the site since approximately 1887. Prior to 1990, the facility produced industrial strength wire by drawing raw material stock stainless steel through dies to give the wire the desired shape and thickness. Lead dross was used as a lubricant in this process. Operations at the former Prairieland Steel facility were discontinued in 1996.
In 1996, U.S. EPA conducted a Removal Action at the Prairieland Steel facility during which 7,000 gallons of waste corrosives, 45 drums of lead slag, 7 drums of waste solids, 18 drums of waste liquids, and 25 cubic yards of non-hazardous debris were removed and disposed.
In 2000, several of the Prairieland Steel buildings were demolished by the City of Havana using Brownfield Grant money.
In 2001, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA) conducted a site investigation of Prairieland Steel. This investigation focused on lead dust deposited on a concrete pad, in the pit areas, and immediately beneath a concrete pad as a result of the demolition of the Prairieland Steel building in August/September 2000. Findings from this investigation led to the excavation of two waste pits and the determination that shallow groundwater had been impacted by site activities.
In 2003, the IEPA collected additional groundwater and soil samples. Analytical results found tetrachloroethylene at concentrations up to 71 mg/kg and lead contamination at up to 1,700 mg/kg. The 2003 investigation also revealed arsenic contamination in soil in the right-of-way surrounding the former Prairieland Steel property at concentrations up to 500 mg/kg.
In June 2004, a Pre-CERCLIS Screening Assessment was conducted by Illinois EPA. An X-ray fluorescence (XRF) survey was conducted at the Site. The XRF survey revealed lead levels up to 67,000 parts per million (ppm) and elevated levels of arsenic primarily in the upper two feet of soil. Analytical results taken at this time revealed total lead at up to 45,000 ppm in a waste pile and a concentration of 360 mg/l pursuant to the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP).
In July 2006, U.S. EPA conducted an assessment of the Site. Several soil samples were collected in the vicinity of the waste pile to determine the aerial extent of lead contamination. Soil samples collected from a depth of 0-6 inches on the waste pile found total lead levels at up to 210,000 mg/kg.
On October 12, 2007, the U.S. EPA Region 5 Emergency Response Branch started a time-critical removal action at the Prairieland Steel site. The removal action will involve the excavation and off-site disposal of approximately 1000 tons of contaminated soil and the capping of a lead contaminated concrete pad. The removal action will take approximately 10 days to complete.
