Region 5 Superfund (SF)

U.S. EPA REGION 5
INGHAM COUNTY
LANSING

Congressional District # 08

BARRELS, INC.

EPA ID# MID017188673
Last Updated: April, 2008

Site Description

The Barrels, Inc. site, located in Ingham County, Michigan, is a two-acre site in the industrialized northern portion of the city of Lansing. From 1964 to 1981, Barrels, Inc. received metal barrels from industrial facilities for cleaning and repainting. Waste residues allegedly were dumped directly onto the ground as an initial step in recycling the drums. Paint sludges were also deposited at the site. The state detected lead and zinc in the shallow groundwater in 1983.  Soils onsite were heavily contaminated with heavy metals, volatile hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), oil, grease, and many inorganic substances.

Approximately 9,000 people live within one mile of the site. Three schools are located within one-half mile of the site. A Lansing municipal well, which supplies water for the city of Lansing, East Lansing Township, and Delhi Township is located in close proximity to the site. The Grand River flows within one-half mile of the site. Air Quality reports indicated elevated levels for benzene and methylene chloride at the site boundary when barrels were onsite.  The area is fenced, which addressed the direct contact risk associated with the site.

Site Responsibility

This site is being addressed through State and Responsible Party actions.

Threats and Contaminants

The state detected lead and zinc in the shallow groundwater in 1983. Soils onsite were contaminated with heavy metals, volatile hydrocarbons, PCBs, oil, grease, and many inorganic substances. 

Cleanup Progress

One thousand drums, 1,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil, and nine underground storage tanks were removed by the State of Michigan and disposed of in a federally-approved disposal facility in 1986. This removal action greatly reduced the potential for exposure to contaminants from the site while investigations and final cleanup plans are developed.

A Consent Decree (CD) was entered into among the State of Michigan and the Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) group on March 1, 1993. This CD called for the PRP group to complete a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) and to submit a Remedial Action Plan (RAP). The Final RI Report was approved by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in July 1995. The Final FS Report was approved by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) in January 1996. The PRP group is in the process of revising the RAP, which will outline additional cleanup activities to be conducted at the site, and will submit it to MDEQ for review.

The RAP target is a Limited Industrial (land-use-based) closure pursuant to part 201 of the Michigan Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act.  It is anticipated that construction of the remedy will begin within 6 months of MDEQ's approval of the RAP.  The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) is working with MDEQ to facilitate approval and implementation of the RAP.

 

 

Contacts

Remedial Project Manager, U.S. EPA
linda kern (kern.linda@epa.gov)
(312) 886-7341

Community Involvement Coordinator, U.S. EPA
stuart hill
(312) 886-0689

Aliases

BARRELS, INC
BARRELS INC

 

Site Profile Information

This profile provides you with information on EPA's cleanup progress at this Superfund site.