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Prairie Ronde Realty Company (PRR) (Former National Copper Products Site)
Site Information
- Dowagiac, MI (Cass County)
- EPA ID# MID005068507
- RCRA Corrective Action Site
- Alias(es): Sunstrand Heat Transfer
Contact Information
Public Affairs Specialist
Rafael P. Gonzalez (gonzalez.rafaelp@epa.gov)
312-886-0269 or 800-621-8431, ext. 60269
Projecct Manager
Michelle Kaysen
(kaysen.michelle@epa.gov)
312-886-4253 or 800-621-8431, ext. 64253
Repositories
(where to view written records)
Dowagiac Public Library
211 Commercial Street
Dowagiac, MI
Background
The site at 415 East Prairie Ronde Road in Dowagiac, Michigan has been used for a variety of manufacturing purposes since 1916, including production of furnaces, copper tubing and air conditioners. Prairie Ronde Realty (PRR) purchased the property in 1995 and leased it to National Copper Products which used it for manufacturing. In 2009, National Copper Products filed for bankruptcy. The building is currently leased to multiple entities for non-industrial uses.
Groundwater at the site is contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), primarily trichloroethene (TCE).
- The company has been pumping the groundwater for many years to contain migration of the contaminated groundwater. As a result, the highest concentrations of TCE are found onsite.
- The onsite concentrations have been further reduced by "enhanced reductive dechlorination" (ERD), a very effective way to speed up the natural degradation of the contamination.
- Additional measures have been taken at the facility, such as the removal of contaminated soil and soil vapor extraction, to reduce the risk from contamination.
PRR entered into a RCRA 3008(h) Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) with EPA on June 2, 2006. PRR must implement site-wide corrective action at the site. EPA has been overseeing the environmental investigation at the 33-acre facility and will propose appropriate remedies in those areas where contamination must be addressed.
In 2012, EPA collected indoor air samples and on-site sub-slab samples (from the space under the building foundation). Samples demonstrated that TCE concentrations below the building foundation and within the indoor air exceeded EPA's screening levels. TCE easily evaporates as a gas when it is exposed to air or soil and migrates from below the building to inside the building, a process referred to as vapor intrusion. EPA directed PRR to decrease the immediate concentrations of TCE inside the building with proper ventilation and to establish a permanent vapor mitigation system.
You will need the free Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more.
Technical Documents
- Indoor air sampling work plan or PRR building (PDF) (14pp 637KB)
- Indoor air and sub-slab soil gas sampling work plan for PRR building (PDF) (19pp 305KB)
- Indoor air and sub-slab soil gas sampling work plan for PRR building (PDF) (153pp 4MB)
- Second draft work plan for interim sub-slab depresurization system (PDF) (11pp 225KB)
- EPA comments on Work Plan for Interim Sub-Slab Depressurization System (PDF) (4pp 75KB)
- EPA comments on Work Plan for Interim Sub-Slab Depressurization System (PDF) (2pp 30KB)
- National Copper Products Fact Sheet, July 2006 (PDF), (2pp, 50K)
- Air Sampling Results National Tube/Sundstrand Heat Transfer Plant, Dowagiac, MI, May 2006 (PDF), (204pp, 5MB)
- National Copper Products Site Map (PDF), (1pg, 23K) July 2006
- Current Conditions Report, July 2005 (PDF), (424pp, 44MB)
- Soil Gas Data Evaluation, June 2005 (PDF), (95pp, 2MB)
- Human Exposure Controlled (PDF), (10pp, 275K)
- Release to Groundwater Controlled (PDF), (12pp, 363K)
- Figure 1 Map - Groundwater Controlled (PDF), (1pg, 150K)
- National Copper Products Site Map (PDF), (1pg, 23K)
- Current Conditions Report, July 2005 (PDF), (424pp, 44MB)
- Soil Gas Data Evaluation, June 2005 (PDF), (95pp, 2MB)