Hazardous Waste Cleanup: C&D Technologies, Attica, Indiana
On this page:
- Latest News
- Cleanup Status
- Facility Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Selected Remedies
- Institutional/Engineer Controls
- Contacts for this Facility
Latest News
Updated Residential Soil Lead Screening Level Guidance
In 2024, EPA released an updated national guidance for lead in soil at residential properties impacted by Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Hazardous Waste Cleanup facilities. EPA now has a better understanding of the hazards of lead exposure, especially for young children.
Based on this updated information, EPA lowered recommended screening levels and strengthened guidance for investigating and cleaning up lead-contaminated soil in residential areas. This change in screening levels may result in additional investigations to determine the potential presence and extent of lead-contaminated soils.
EPA believes that airborne dust, soot, and smoke from historic C&D Technologies (C&D) Facility operations may have deposited lead on residential yards in the vicinity.
In December 2011, under EPA oversight, C&D conducted an off-site soil investigation at nearby residences. C&D collected soil samples from the top six inches of soil at residences near the C&D Facility and tested them for lead.
Based on then existing EPA and Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) guidance, the concentrations of lead present in soil in the sampled residential yards were not considered a concern. EPA will be reevaluating this data per the updated EPA residential lead guidance to determine whether additional investigation is warranted based on the lower screening levels.
EPA will be in contact with community members and stakeholders with further information as the updated guidance is implemented at the C&D Facility.
Learn more about the guidance:
For information on protecting yourself and your family from lead exposure, please visit EPA’s Lead Webpage.
Cleanup Status
As of 2020, all remedies selected for the C&D Facility have been implemented. This includes the remedies selected in the 2015 Final Decision and the 2019 Explanation of Minor Differences for Area 9. The Explanation of Minor Differences documented the EPA’s decision to change part of the remedy selected in the 2015 Final Decision. EPA required C&D to excavate shallow soil where contamination remained above the IDEM Industrial Direct Contact Criteria. In October 2019, C&D excavated approximately 20 cubic yards of contaminated soil in Area 9. The excavated area was filled in with clean soil and capped with concrete.
Facility Description
C&D owns and operates a battery manufacturing plant at 200 West Main Street in the City of Attica, Fountain County, Indiana. The C&D Facility is located on approximately 12.5 acres in the north-northwestern portion of the city (see Facility Location Map to right). The Wabash River borders the C&D Facility on the west and northwest. Residential and commercial properties surround the remaining sides of the C&D Facility. The C&D Facility contains an active battery manufacturing area, a former landfill, and riverbank property along the Wabash River.
The C&D Facility manufactures lead acid batteries for commercial, industrial and military applications. Manufacturing processes include casting or curing lead battery parts, pasting battery grids, plate processing, battery assembling, charging and finishing.
In January 2007, EPA Region 5 and C&D entered into a RCRA Section 3008(h) Corrective Action Order that required C&D to investigate and address all historic releases of hazardous waste and constituents at or from the site.
Contaminants at this Facility
Through focused human health and ecological risk evaluations performed on data collected from 2007 through 2009, the following areas at the C&D Facility were identified for cleanup (see Map of Areas below):
- Areas 4 and 9 - Soil (trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE);
- Riverbank Area - Soil (lead);
- Areas 3, 5, and 11 - Soil (arsenic and lead);
- Area 7 - Soil (arsenic); and
- Monitoring Well-4S - Groundwater (lead).
Based on the updated 2024 residential lead soil screening levels, an additional area has been identified for further investigation:
- Off-Site Residential Area - Soil (lead)
- The extent of this area has not yet been determined but may include residences that were previously sampled, as well as previously untested residences. The EPA will provide further information about the extent of this area as it becomes available.
Selected Remedies
In 2015, EPA issued a Final Decision selecting remedies for the areas that were identified for cleanup. These remedies included:
- Areas 4 and 9 Soil: Soil Vapor Extraction to reduce PCE and TCE concentrations in the soil underneath the manufacturing building to protect workers from indoor air vapor intrusion.
- Riverbank Area Soil: Construction of an exposure barrier (riprap over geotextile fabric) to protect ecological receptors.
- Areas 3, 5, and 11 Soil: Maintaining the existing concrete flooring (Areas 3 & 11) and/or capping with concrete (Area 5) to create an exposure barrier to prevent worker exposure to contaminated surface soils.
- Area 7 Soil: Maintaining the existing concrete flooring acting as an exposure barrier to prevent worker exposure to contaminated surface soils.
- Monitoring Well-4S Groundwater: Monitoring groundwater at Monitoring Well-4S until the lead level in groundwater does not exceed the IDEM Residential Default Closure Levels for two consecutive rounds six months apart.
Part of the remedies for the exposure barriers includes conducting routine inspection and maintenance to ensure their integrity. C&D was also required to file a deed restriction for the site.
The three Cleanup Goals of the selected remedies are to:
- Meet the cleanup goals for soil gas to protect workers from indoor air vapor intrusion
- Minimize the potential for worker exposure to hazardous materials in surface soil
- Control the potential for releases of hazardous substance to groundwater
The remedies implemented by C&D have met Cleanup Goals 1 and 2. Ongoing operation and maintenance of surface capping in various impacted areas will ensure Cleanup Goal 3 is met with periodic inspections and repair.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
In 2020, C&D established an enforceable institutional control to restrict the land use of the C&D property to industrial or commercial use now and in the future. This institutional control also prohibits groundwater use and requires C&D to conduct routine inspection and maintenance to ensure the integrity of the concrete and pavement in Areas 3, 5, 7, 9, & 11 and the exposure barrier in the Riverbank Area.
Results of the inspections for each of these areas indicate the protective barriers are functioning as intended and continue to effectively isolate localized impacted soils. No repairs for any of the inspected areas have been recommended as a result of the inspections.
Contacts for this Facility
Erika McCormick, Hazardous Waste Cleanup Project Manager; U.S. EPA Region 5, LR-16J, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604; (mccormick.erika@epa.gov); Phone: 312-886-4245.
Francisco Arcaute, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator; U.S. EPA Region 5, RE-19J, 77 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604; (arcaute.francisco@epa.gov); Phone: 312-886-7613.