33 Million Cleanup Complete at Reed-Keppler Park Superfund Site

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

EPA:33 Million Cleanup Complete at Reed-Keppler Park Superfund 
Site  
  
CHICAGO, July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) Region 5 said today that a $33 million cleanup of 
radioactively contaminated soil at Reed-Keppler Park (West 
Chicago, IL) is now complete. 

The cleanup, conducted by Kerr-McGee Chemical LLC, with 
oversight by EPA and other agencies, including Illinois Department 
of Nuclear Safety (IDNS) and Illinois EPA, addressed an 11-acre 
portion of the 100-acre park. 

Beginning in 1931, the Lindsay Light & Chemical Co.'s Rare Earths 
Facility, 783 Factory St., which processed ore, generated a sand-
like waste material called thorium mill tailings.  Between the mid-
1930s and the mid-1960s, some of these materials were used as 
fill in low-lying areas or construction projects in the West Chicago 
area, including Reed-Keppler park, which at the time was used as 
a local dump site. 

Operations at the Rare Earths Facility ceased in 1973.  (That 
property is currently being cleaned up under the regulatory 
oversight of the IDNS.) Kerr-McGee acquired the Rare Earths 
Facility in 1967. 

Potentially harmful levels of radiation at the park were first detected 
in 1976.  The Reed-Keppler Park site was added to the Superfund 
National Priorities List in 1990.  Comprehensive EPA investigations 
and engineering studies began in 1992.  Kerr-McGee began 
excavating contaminated materials at Reed-Keppler Park in spring 
1997 under a unilateral administrative order. 

The cleanup, over the course of three and a half construction 
seasons, included excavation of 114,600 cubic yards of 
contaminated soil, which was shipped to a radioactive materials 
disposal facility in Utah.  As part of the project, new parking areas 
and a perimeter roadway were constructed, allowing residents to 
continue to use other areas of the park without disruption. 

The restoration of site landscaping is nearly complete and is 
proceeding under an agreement between West Chicago, Kerr-
McGee and the West Chicago Park District, as required by the 
EPA unilateral administrative order.  This work includes:  backfilling 
excavated areas to their original elevations; relocating some 
utilities; and landscaping to replace removed and damaged 
vegetation to make the area suitable for recreational use. 

"This site first came to EPA's attention more than 20 years ago.  
It's a pleasure to see the cleanup wrapped up and West Chicago 
residents using this portion of the park again," said Regional 
Administrator Francis X. Lyons. "None of this would have been 
possible without tremendous good will, contributions, and in-kind 
services from other government agencies, particularly IDNS, Illinois 
EPA, the City of West Chicago, and the West Chicago Park 
District." 

Reed-Keppler Park is one of 4 related Superfund sites in West 
Chicago. Cleanup work by Kerr-McGee at the Residential Areas 
site began in 1995.  To date, 535 contaminated properties have 
been cleaned up and restored, with more than 100,000 cubic yards 
of radiation contaminated material removed.  Another 116 known 
contaminated properties are awaiting final cleanup, most of which 
should be finished this year.  More than 2,100 total properties were 
included in the radiation study area, with about 90 still to be 
evaluated. 

West Chicago and DuPage County officials are working with Kerr-
McGee to reach a voluntary agreement for cleanup of the other two 
sites, Kress Creek and the Sewage Treatment Plant, with a 
tentative goal of beginning cleanup in 2001. 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
ICN Biomedicals, Inc.				E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue  		E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com          	          
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com
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