TOSC-envirosafe, Ohio Project

Introduction

Envirosafe Services of Ohio, Inc. (ESOI) owns and operates a hazardous waste landfill in southwest Oregon, Ohio, near Lake Erie. The facility operates under a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) permit from both the State of Ohio and the U.S. Environ mental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA). ESOI is permitted to accept hazardous waste for treatment, storage and disposal. The facility has operated since the 1950s under various owners. (The ownership history is described in detail below.) Since March 27, 1987, the facility has been known as ESOI

Primarily because of concern about possible releases to the environment from past operaions, ESOI is currently conducting an investigation a “corrective action” required under the facility's RCRA permit. The first phase of the corrective action is an investigation to look at the nature and extent of contamination, primarily on the northern boundary, but also in other pre-RCRA areas throughout the site. This investigation will include the collection and analysis of soil, sediment, ground water, and surface water samples to answer certain questions. These questions include: Is there contamination? Where is it and what are the concentrations? If so, what media (soil, sediment, groundwater, etc.) are affected? The results from this first phase will help determine the course of future investigations. The ultimate goal is to define the nature and extent of contamination and assess the potential risks to human health and the environment; and eventually to carry out cleanup work for contamination that is determined to pose unacceptable risks. U.S. EPA Region 5, in Chicago, IL, is managing the corrective action.

The TOSC Program at Michigan State University has been asked to provide assistance to northwestern Ohio area citizens regarding the ESOI Corrective Action investigation. TOSC met with citizens on March 16, 2002, and again on July 11th, 2002, to assess community concerns and discuss TOSC's involvement. In this Outreach Plan, TOSC describes a variety of activities to address public concerns over the environmental contamination at the ESOI facility with the goal of promoting citizen involvement in the decision making process. TOSC seeks to directly address community concerns and questions through the work described in this document.

TOSC has received the Description of Current Conditions (DOCC) from the EPA. The purpose of the DOCC is to describe the Solid Waste Management Units (SWMUs) and Areas of Concern (AOCs) at the facility that are subject to the cleanup plan, and to describe available information from previous investigations and ongoing monitoring that may provide an indication of the potential for releases. In addition, the DOCC included an evaluation of the existing data to assist with decision making regarding recommendations for future investigation activities, as well as the need for interim measures.

TOSC has also received the RCRA Facility Investigation (RFI) Work Plan, which was prepared to detail the investigation work necessary to characterize potential releases of haz ardous waste and hazardous constituents from different portions of the ESOI property. As described in the Work Plan, ESOI is proposing a phased approach to characterize the nature, extent, and rate of migration of hazardous waste or hazardous constituents, in order to assess the potential risks to human health and the environment. The investigation will include the collection and analysis of soil, sediment, ground water, and surface water samples, conducting an assessment of current and potential future human and ecological receptors that could be exposed to contaminants, and completing a risk assessment to identify releases warranting corrective measures.

As of the date of this Outreach Plan, there are significant gaps in the characterization of the ESOI property and the extent of contamination is not known. U.S. EPA is implementing Phase One of the RFI, as part of the RCRA Corrective Action, to characterize the site more completely. EPA will eventually arrive at recommended corrective (cleanup) measures based on risks to human health and the environment caused by the contamination. EPA expects to issue those corrective measures in 2005. As the gaps in the ESOI characterization are addressed, TOSC will have more information also, and will be able to provide more interpretation for residents.

Other sections of the TOSC Outreach Plan: