In 2008 and 2009, the City of Muncie commissioned Phase I and II Environmental Site Assessments (ESA).  The Phase II ESA identified contamination in soil and groundwater.  Contaminants included metals such as arsenic, copper, mercury, and nickel; and volatile organic compounds (VOC) such as TCE and vinyl chloride.  Arsenic and mercury were detected above Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) Industrial Default Closure Levels (IDCL) in near-surface soil (0-2 feet below ground surface [bgs]).  VOCs were detected in soil above IDCLs at depths of 6-7 feet bgs.  Additionally, TCE, vinyl chloride, arsenic, copper, and nickel were detected in groundwater samples above IDEM IDCLs.  

At the request of the City of Muncie, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted a Site Assessment on October 26 and 29, 2012, and collected soil and soil gas samples.  EPA collected 11 soil samples from 0 to 4 feet bgs for total and Toxicity Characteristic Leachate Procedure (TCLP) metals, total cyanide, and VOCs.  EPA also collected seven soil gas samples for VOC analysis.  
 

EPA compared soil results to November 2012 Removal Management Levels (RML) for industrial soil and regulatory levels for toxicity established in Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), 40 CFR § 261.24.  TCLP cadmium was above the regulatory level of 1 milligrams per liter (mg/L) in the sample from SS-04 at a concentration of 15 mg/L.

 
Soil gas data were compared to soil gas screening levels for a 10^-4 cancer risk as established in EPA’s Vapor Intrusion Screening Level (VISL) Calculator, which were then converted from units of micrograms per cubic meter (ug/m³) to parts per billion by volume (ppbv) using standard atmospheric temperature and pressure and the molecular weight of each chemical constituent.  Six of the seven soil gas samples contained VOCs above the VISL screening levels. 

• 1,1-Dichloroethene (DCE) was detected in one sample at a concentration of 660 ppbv, which was above the screening level of 521 ppbv;
• trans-1,2-DCE was detected in three samples above the screening level of 156 ppbv.  Concentrations above the screening level ranged from 10,000 to 120,000 ppbv;
• Ethylbenzene was above the screening level of 220 ppbv in one sample at a concentration of 970 ppbv;
• Tetrachloroethene (PCE) was detected in one sample above the screening level of 59 ppbv at a concentration of 85 ppbv;
• TCE was detected above the screening level of 3.8 ppbv in six samples with values ranging from 4.5 to 82,000 ppbv;
• 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene was detected in two samples above the screening level of 14.6 ppbv at a maximum concentration of 110 ppbv;
• Vinyl chloride was detected in two samples above the screening level of 62 ppbv with the highest concentration at 20,000 ppbv; and
• m,p-Xylene was detected in two samples above the screening level of 226 ppbv at concentrations of 290 and 1,500 ppbv.

• Used a global positioning system (GPS) to locate soil borings;
• Conducted an extent-of-contamination survey on-site by drilling 50 soil borings in 25-foot by 25-foot grids and screening them with a photo-ionization detector (PID) and x-ray fluorescence (XRF) detector;
• Submitted 40 soil samples for RCRA metals analysis, including duplicates;
• Submitted one soil samples for disposal analysis;
• Drilled and collected samples from 24 soil gas locations; and
• Erected a perimeter fence.