The Site is located at 7955 West 59th Street in the City of Summit, Cook County, Illinois. Approximately 23 acres in size, the Site is located 10 miles southwest of Chicago, Illinois. The Site is located in the west-central section of Summit, and has the geographic coordinates of latitude 41.46.39 N, longitude 87.49.13 W. The Site is bordered by an industrial complex and 59th Street to the north; by railroad tracks and an automobile junkyard to the east; and by railroad tracks and railroad yard to the south and west. Although the Site is located in an industrial neighborhood, there is significant residential development less than 1000 feet to the southeast of the site.
The Site previously operated as a scrap metal processing/recycling facility for more than 20 years. The scrap metal shredder was utilized for the processing of scrap metal articles, such as automobile hulks and light iron. The shredding process facilitates separation of ferrous and nonferrous metals from nonmetallic materials contained in the feed material; after separation, the remaining material is commonly referred to as shredder residue. Shredder residues consist predominantly of nonmetallic solid material, including plastic, glass, rubber, soil, carpet and fabric. It is an unconsolidated, heterogeneous solid, medium to dark brown in color and typically exhibiting a slight, musty odor.
Key Site features include the main ASR pile, two sets of abandoned railroad tracks, the former materials processing/shredder area, a surface water impoundment located along the northern edge of the Site, and two office/garage buildings currently being leased to trucking companies. The main ASR pile extends along the Site’s eastern border in a north-northeast/south-southwest direction and measures approximately 875 feet along its longest axis. The pile ranges in height from 30 to 70 feet above ground surfaces and in width from 125 to 250 feet. Two separate operations are active at the Site. These companies have leased discrete areas in the west-central and northeastern sections of the Site to conduct their operations. Generally, ground elevations increase by five to 10 feet from north to south, with drainage patterns to the north and northeast. Water and/or leachate from the ASR pile was observed accumulating along the east border and flowing off the Site toward the adjacent automobile junkyard. Other small piles of ASR are located throughout the Site, and many of the berms on Site are constructed of ASR material.
A Removal Site Assessment was conducted on March 15, 2000, to determine the extent of the automobile shredder residue (“ASR”) previously observed at the Site, and to obtain additional analytical data to warrant a removal action. Samples of the ASR were collected from various locations throughout the Site. Eleven samples were collected at 200 foot intervals along the base of the large pile, and eight samples were collected on the top of the pile. Eight surface samples, a sediment sample and one water sample were also collected. The samples were analyzed for Total lead, TCLP metals, and PCBs. The results identified total lead levels ranging from 20.6 to 180,000 ppm, TCLP lead levels of 0.283 to 94.1ppm, and PCBs from 7.6 to 217.7 ppm. The ASR appears to cover an area in excess of 20 acres with depths ranging from one to 10 feet. The largest volume of ASR is located in the pile along the eastern perimeter and is estimated to contain 350,000 cubic yards. In addition to the ASR, the Site allegedly has four underground fuel storage tanks which probably contained diesel fuel for the Site vehicles. The condition and/or possible contamination from these tanks were not addressed during the initial site assessment activities. These potential fuel tanks are outside the scope of this removal action.
The proposed response action will mitigate threats to public health, welfare, and the environment posed by the presence of uncontrolled hazardous substances in the large waste pile. Proposed removal actions include, but are not limited to, the assessment and stabilization of chemical hazards at the Site through construction of an impervious cap. The presence of hazardous substances located on the surface of the Site, the potential for off-site migration, the unrestricted access to the property, and the Site’s proximity to residential and commercial areas require that this removal be classified as time-critical. The project will require an estimated sixty 10-hour on-site working days to complete.
