US EPA Announces Next Phase Burn-Pit Remediation
In April 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released a summary of the status of the clean-up during the 2024 construction season of the Velsicol Burn Pit. is preparing to start up the in-place thermal treatment system that will clean up 1.4 acres of soil contamination at the Velsicol Burn Pit Superfund Site in St. Louis, Michigan. The site received Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to implement the cleanup that consists of heating the soil which will remove the contaminants (see below, “How Does it Work?”).
Because EPA recently completed in-place thermal treatment at the former plant site across the river, the treatment system was already available and will be used for the Burn Pit site cleanup. This reuse is possible with the addition of a temporary floating bridge in the Pine River connecting the Burn Pit and the former plant site treatment system. EPA anticipates the system will operate for approximately one year.
How Does it Work? Soil and groundwater in the treatment zone are heated to 100 o C using electrical energy applied to heaters in the ground. Some of contaminants are vaporized into gases that are treated in the vapor treatment system. The heat makes the DNAPL contaminants flow more easily through the soil for extraction and eventual offsite disposal. Next Steps Cleanup time depends on site conditions and chemical characteristics. EPA monitors the treatment system performance to record the amount of contamination removed over time. Once the system is removing only minimal amounts of contamination, it is said to reach a point of “diminishing returns.” At that time, EPA looks at other information to make sure the system has performed as designed before it is shut down and removed. For more information For more information about the site, contact these U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) staff:
For technical questions: Contact either Jennifer Knoepfle EPA Remedial Project Manager (312) 886-7153 knoepfle.jennifer@epa.gov or Anna Nguyen EPA Remedial Project Manager (312) 886-6798 nguyen.anna@epa.gov
For general questions: Diane Russell EPA Community Involvement Coordinator 989-395-3493 russell.diane@epa.gov Karen Chen EPA Community Involvement Coordinator 773-502-5506 chen.karen01@epa.gov Webpage
For more details about the site, visit the webpage at: www.epa.gov/superfund/velsicolburnpit