State, feds may help track PCB source

[Hamilton Reef]

Macomb County

State, feds may help track PCB source

The Macomb Water Quality Board passed a resolution Tuesday asking that the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency team up to find the source of PCBs coming from a storm sewer in St. Clair Shores. Concentrations of PCBs 200,000 times higher than safe levels have been found in the storm drain under Harper at Bon Brae. That is believed to be the source of PCBs detected in two residential boat canals at 10 Mile and Jefferson. The EPA spent $6 million and the state $1 million two years ago dredging the canals and flushing the drain, but the high levels persist.

[Hamilton Reef]

Source of contaminant found - 8/12/05
Officials say pool of PCBs that polluted St. Clair Shores drain, canals is under Harper.

ST. CLAIR SHORES -- A four-month investigation by federal and state officials has determined that a cache of PCBs, which has persistently contaminated a storm drain and two residential canals, is isolated to an underground pool out of the public's reach.
An 8-foot diameter "swath" of PCB is 12-15 feet below ground at the intersection of Harper and Bon Brae, near 10 Mile, in St. Clair Shores, said Bill Kimble, on-scene coordinator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/0508/12/B01-278391.htm

[Hamilton Reef]

I was going to make this comment, but it was emailed to me and I'll just pass it on.

The headline in the Detroit News is misleading. The utimate "source" of the PCB contamination has not been found. What the EPA found is high contamination levels in backfill near the PCB hot spots previously detected inside the drain. The article concludes, not unreasonably, that these soils may be contaminating the drain through fissures in the drain wall. The question of how the soils came to be contaminated (or are being contaminated) has not been answered.

[Hamilton Reef]

Further digging urged at drain
Report backs more work on PCBs in St. Clair Shores

A new report suggests more excavating of polluted soils is needed to rid the 10 Mile storm drain of the PCBs that have plagued the St. Clair Shores area in the four years since they were discovered.

http://www.freep.com/news/locmac/pcbs9e_20051109.htm

[Hamilton Reef]

PCB cleanup is topic of talks in St. Clair Shores
EPA to pay for $1.2-million effort

Federal and state environmental officials will meet with St. Clair Shores residents March 1 at a town hall meeting to discuss plans to eliminate chemicals that have polluted the 10 Mile storm drain and the 10 Mile/Lange/Revere Canal.

The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the auditorium of Lakeview High School, 21100 Eleven Mile. Discussions will center on EPA recommendations and funding for the cleanup.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060209/NEWS04/602090585/1006

[KI Jim]

Incredible. How did it get there???? Did some dirtbag dump it? PCBs don't just make themselves. If they ever find out who did it, they should lock 'em up and throw away the key. :rant:

Jim

[Hamilton Reef]

St. Clair Shores residents to get chance to vent on PCBs

For St. Clair Shores residents frustrated with the government's handling of chemical contamination in their city, Wednesday is going to be a time for answers.

Residents want to know why the PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency spent $7 million cleaning up in 2003 are still contaminating the 10 Mile storm drain and the 10 Mile/Lange/Revere Canal. And they want to know what is being done to fix the recurring problem.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060228/NEWS04/602280408/1006/NEWS

[fishineddie]

i saw that on the news last night..they showed a bunch of dead fish floating right under the ice ..what kind of fish were they ..hope not perch,but thats what they looked like..

[Hamilton Reef]

EPA completes 10-mile drain PCB containment liner; monitoring to continue

Release date: 09/20/2006

Contact Information: (EPA) Mick Hans, (312) 353-5050, hans.mick@epa.gov (City of SCS) Mary Jane Winkler, (586) 447-3414, maryjane@scsmi.net

CHICAGO (Sept. 20, 2006) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has completed installation of a synthetic liner designed to prevent PCB seepage into the 10-Mile Drain in St. Clair Shores, Mich. The drain, 9 to 12 feet below the street at the intersection of Bon Brae Street and Harper Avenue, leads downstream into the Lange and Revere Canals, which flow into Lake St. Clair, and eventually into Lake Erie.

The $1.1 million project, overseen by a Grosse Ile, Mich.-based EPA Superfund team, began in March and built upon a partnership among EPA, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Michigan Department of Community Health, Macomb County Public Works and the city of St. Clair Shores. During an earlier (2002 - 2004) phase of the effort, EPA performed an extensive $7 million cleanup of the canals. However, follow-up sampling of the drain and canals showed high levels of PCBs still present.

The engineered resin liner was sealed inside the drainage pipe using hot water. The liner keeps the PCBs outside the pipe so they do not migrate into other parts of the drainage system. In addition to the pipe, EPA also removed PCB-contaminated soil from nine yards or public easements along the system. Sidewalks, manholes and yards damaged during the construction project have been repaired or replaced.

"The new liner was designed as a temporary solution that should work effectively for at least 15 years," said Regional Superfund Director Richard Karl. "In the interim, the city of St. Clair Shores and the Macomb County Public Works office will monitor its performance quarterly and long-term strategies will be evaluated."

"St. Clair Shores officials and residents appreciate the efforts of EPA and MDEQ during this phase of cleanup efforts," said St. Clair Shores City Manager Ken Podolski.

Anthony V. Marrocco, Macomb County public works commissioner, lauded EPA, state agencies and city officials for their work on the PCB cleanup. "The job was carried out very efficiently," said Marrocco.

PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) are a group of toxic chemicals that were widely used as coolants, insulators and lubricants. PCBs are of concern because they concentrate in the food chain resulting in health hazards to people, fish and wildlife. Congress banned the manufacture of PCBs in 1976 and those still in use are strictly regulated, but PCBs remain in the environment for many years.