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Fact Sheet
August 2008
EPA Signs Interim Record of Decision, Madison County Mines Superfund Site, Fredericktown, Missouri
INTRODUCTION
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 has signed the Interim Record of Decision (ROD), which addresses cleanup activities at the Madison County Mines site. The focus of this Interim ROD is on residential properties which are a part of Operable Unit No. 3 (OU-3). The Interim ROD was signed on July 31, 2008. A public comment period was held from April 16 to May 15, 2008. A public meeting was conducted on April 29, 2008, to elicit comments on the Proposed Plan, which is the document that defines EPA's options for cleanup and its preferred remedy.
Following the public comment period, EPA, in consultation with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), selected a remedy after reviewing and evaluating all comments and information submitted about the Proposed Plan.
BACKGROUND
The Madison County Mines site is part of the Old Lead Belt in southeastern Missouri, where mining has occurred since the 1700s. Past mining operations left mine waste deposits within the county. EPA has been working in the local community since 1995, after initially detecting elevated heavy metal levels (lead) in mine waste, soil, groundwater and sediment.
Due to the historical mining in the area, the EPA collected soil samples at residences and public areas frequented by children. To date, approximately 3,100 residential properties have been sampled in Madison County. Based on the sampling results, EPA determined that numerous residential properties within the county were contaminated with elevated levels of lead and required cleanup actions. To date, more than 800 residential properties have been cleaned up through previous removal actions.
Based on a site-specific risk assessment (as summarized in the Proposed Plan), a cleanup level of 400 parts per million for lead in residential surface soil was determined to be protective of human health. Based on this cleanup number and previous residential soil sampling, there are expected to be approximately 1,100 residential properties that may require a response action.
REMEDY SELECTED
EPA's selected remedy at the OU-3 residential properties includes: excavation (digging up contaminated soil); disposal (removal and placement of contaminated soil in an approved repository); placement of a vegetative cover (seeding on top of clean soil in yards and public areas); and institutional controls. Institutional controls are used to reduce the risk of exposure to hazardous substances. An institutional control in this Interim ROD is health education, which will be conducted by the Madison County Health Department while construction is ongoing.
Over the next three (3) years, EPA will be implementing an institutional control "pilot project". This pilot project will give decision-makers an opportunity to evaluate the best institutional controls to protect humans from, or limit their exposure to, heavy metals in soil. These institutional controls are also necessary to protect any physical barriers laid at depth at residential properties, as well as to ensure protection at future residential developments. Citizens and government officials at all levels will be called upon to determine the most workable and acceptable institutional controls at this site.
In the future, a final remedy will be chosen for this OU, which will be documented in a final ROD. At that time, institutional controls will be fully defined, based partially on the institutional control "pilot project".
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The Interim ROD and other site-related documents for the Madison County Mines site are available for review during regular business hours at the following locations:
Ozark Regional Library - Fredericktown Branch
115 South Main Street
Fredericktown, Missouri
EPA's Record Center
901 North 5th Street
Kansas City, Kansas
If you have questions or need additional information, please contact:
Debbie Kring
Community Involvement Coordinator
U.S. EPA - Region 7
Office of Public Affairs
901 North 5th Street
Kansas City, Kansas 66101
(913) 551-7725 or
Toll-free at 1-800-223-0425
E-mail: kring.debbie@epa.gov
