The Mole Lake School Site was the former location of the Sokaogon Chippewa Community School until the mid-1980s and was later used as tribal offices until 2005. In October, 2010, the entire building was consumed by a large fire, believed to have been the result of arson.

The Site consists of the building remnants, an adjacent ball field, and an adjacent playground area. Half of the building has been reduced to piles of brick and building debris, intermixed with high concentrations of lead from peeling paint and asbestos-containing material from damaged building insulation, tile, and roofing materials. While the school gymnasium is still standing, its structural integrity has been compromised. There are no controls to restrict access to the Site and trespassing is evident throughout the building. The paint on the exterior of the building and gymnasium is severely fire-damaged and paint chips readily flake off and blow across the Site. The contaminants from the building debris have been documented as being present on adjacent children play areas (e.g. paint chips found near playground equipment 30 feetaway from the building structure).

A summary of the site activities that took place from May 1, 2012 to May 3, 2012 are as follows:

On May 1, 2012, EPA, START, ERRS and ERT mobilized to the site to begin removal actions at the Mole Lake School site.  Initial work at the site focused on establishing background air samples, shrub and grass removal, and the collection of site soil samples.  ERT deployed the VIPER system to provide real time air monitoring during the removal process which will stream the information on a website.  This is the first removal site in Region 5 to utilize the VIPER system. 

On May 2, 2012, ERRS contractors began demolishing the remaining portions of the school building. Water was used during the demolition work to keep dust down and prevent the release of asbestos.  Soil sampling efforts were conducted throughout the day.  EPA's FIELDS team collected and screened soil samples using XRF.  Air monitoring stations were set up in 5 locations throughout the site.  Each air monitoring station was equipped with a DataRAM to measure particulate matter, a Gillian pump with an asbestos filter, and an Aircon2 pump with a lead filter.  Using the VIPER system, EPA was able to stream the DataRAM information online (http://viper.ert.org).
The lead and asbestos filters were sent to a lab for analysis along with two waste characterization samples.  ERT conducted training for EPA and START on the set-up and implementation of the VIPER system.

On May 3, 2012, demolition work continued on the school structure.  Air monitoring and dust control measures were implemented throughout the day.  Soil sampling efforts were completed.  ERT demobilized from the site.