User:Lengerichtj/sandbox/Waste Inc Superfund Site

Waste Inc Superfund Site

Background

History

Waste Inc. is a landfill located in Michigan City, Indiana. This site was originally 16 acres, but has since been expanded to 32 acres. This increase is due to the site now including the adjacent Lin-See site, which also had landfill operations occur on the property.

Population around Waste Inc.

Around the Waste Inc. landfill are residential houses and businesses. There were 2,569 households located around the landfill, with a total population of 6,438 (as of 2012). A map to view the proximity of these residential houses and businesses can be found on the EPA website for the Waste Inc. Superfund Site.

Contents of Landfill

Waste Management would not be making any products from the trash. The trash would be collected and then dumped into this landfill, without being converted into any other products. Decomposition of the trash would occur in the landfill, which would have heavy metals and other toxic products leach out into the soil. The goal of the landfill is to keep these metals and other toxic products contained.

Hazards

Hazards Present at the Site

Contaminant	Media Contaminated
Antimony	Groundwater and Soil
Arsenic	Groundwater and Soil
Benzene	Groundwater and Soil
Cadmium	Groundwater and Soil
Chromium	Groundwater and Soil
Manganese	Groundwater and Soil
Mercury	Groundwater and Soil
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)	Soil
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)	Groundwater and Soil
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)	Soil

Antimony

• Signal Word: Warning
• Hazard Pictogram: No classification for physical/health hazards under globally harmonized systems
• Other important hazard information:
  • Irritation
  • Nausea
  • Headache
  • Shortness of breath

Arsenic

• Signal Word: Danger
• Hazard Pictogram: Corrosive, may cause serious health effects
• Other important hazard information:
  • Skin irritation
  • Serious eye damage
  • May cause cancer

Benzene

• Signal Word: Danger
• Hazard Pictogram: Flammable, causes serious health problems and less serious health problems
• Other important hazard information:
  • Highly flammable liquid and vapor
  • May form explosive mixtures with air
  • Serious eye irritation
  • Skin irritation
  • May cause genetic defects
  • May cause cancer
  • Damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure

Cadmium

• Signal Word: Danger
• Hazard Pictogram: Acute toxicant, may cause serious health effects, may cause damage to aquatic systems
• Other important hazard information:
  • Acute toxicity: Inhalation - Category 2
  • Acute toxicity: Oral - Category 3
  • Germ cell mutagenicity - Category 2
  • Carcinogenicity - Category 1B
  • Reproductive toxicity - Category 2
  • Specific target organ toxicity: Repeated exposure - Category 1
  • Acute aquatic toxicity - Category 1
  • Chronic aquatic toxicity - Category 1

Note: The lower the category, the higher the toxicity.

Chromium

• Signal Word: Warning
• Hazard Pictogram: Dangerous to aquatic life
  • Other important hazard information:
  • Harmful if inhaled
  • Respiratory tract irritation
  • Harmful if absorbed through skin
  • Skin irritation
  • Eye irritation
  • Harmful if swallowed

Manganese

• Signal Word: Warning
• Hazard Pictogram: Acute toxicity and less serious health issues
• Other important hazard information:
  • Acute toxicity: Inhalation – Category 4
  • Acute toxicity: Oral – Category 4

Mercury

• Signal Word: Danger
• Hazard Pictogram: Acute toxicity, damages aquatic environment, serious health effects
• Other important hazard information:
  • Acute toxicity, Inhalation (Category 2)
  • Reproductive toxicity (Category 1B)
  • Specific target organ toxicity: repeated exposure - Category 1
  • Acute aquatic toxicity - Category 1
  • Chronic aquatic toxicity - Category 1

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)

• Signal Word: Danger
• Hazard Pictogram: Damages aquatic life, serious health effects, acute toxicity
• Other important hazard information:
  • Acute toxicity: Oral - Category 1
  • Specific target organ toxicity: Repeated exposure - Category 2
  • Acute aquatic toxicity - Category 1
  • Chronic aquatic toxicity - Category 1

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)

• Signal Word: Danger
• Hazard Pictogram: Flammable, damages aquatic life, serious and less serious health effects
• Other important hazard information:
  • Flammable liquids - Category 2
  • Acute toxicity (oral) - Category 4
  • Acute toxicity (dermal) - Category 4
  • Acute toxicity (inhalation) - Category 4
  • Skin corrosion/irritation - Category 2
  • Serious eye damage/eye irritation - Category 2A
  • Reproductive toxicity (fertility) - Category 1A
  • Reproductive toxicity (unborn child) - Category 1A
  • Specific target organ toxicit: Single exposure (Narcotic effects) - Category 3
  • Specific target organ toxicity: Repeated exposure - Category 2
  • Aspiration hazard - Category 1
  • Short-term (acute) aquatic hazard - Category 1
  • Long-term (chronic) aquatic hazard - Category 1

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

• Signal Word: Danger
• Hazard Pictogram: Flammable, causes serious and less serious health effects
• Other important hazard information:
  • Highly flammable liquid and vapor
  • Causes skin irritation
  • Suspected of causing cancer
  • Drowsiness or dizziness

Remediation

Remediation Timeline

Timeline of Remediation Plans

Milestone	Date
Preliminary Assessment/Site Investigation Completed	12/01/1983
Proposed to the National Priorities List	04/10/1985
Finalized on the National Priorities List	07/22/1987
Final Remedy Selected	08/18/1994
Remedial Action Started	09/12/1996
Construction Completed	12/18/1997
Deleted from National Priorities List	10/20/2008
Most Recent Five-Year Review	06/02/2016
Site Ready for Reuse and Redevelopment	02/11/2008

Past Remediation Techniques Used

• Clearing and grubbing activities:
  • First, remove vegetation and anything else on the surface of the landfill. Then, transport the waste to a safer location. This would be considered containment.
• Waste consolidation:
  • Take waste from multiple containers and combine them. This technique is also considered containment. By having the waste closer together, this creates eases during the removal process when transferring the waste to a safer location.
• Leachate collection:
  • This is typically performed by having rainwater drain to a certain well. This would be considered mobilization. The soil then is transported to the Michigan City Sanitary District, and this could be considered containment if the leachate is put in a place of lower risk.
• Groundwater collection:
  • This means to remove groundwater from the site to be transported to a safer location, which is considered containment.

Note: Following cleanup, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took the site off the National Priorities List (NPL) in 2008.