Located near Fortville, the Meridian Road Landfill consists of two polluted areas. The larger of the two, approximately 5.25 acres, is on the west side of Meridian Road. The smaller site, about a third of an acre, is directly east of the western landfill across Meridian Road. The landfills sit on land that was excavated for sand and gravel prior to 1952. From 1952-1965, unregulated dumping and trash burning occurred at the western site. The western gravel pit was operated as a landfill under permits issued by Hancock County from 1965 to 1969, when it received residential, commercial and industrial waste. Paints, chlorinated solvents, sludges and household wastes were reportedly placed in the landfill. The owners of the eastern site had landfill materials placed in a gravel pit in order to fill a depression. Both sites have been inactive since 1969.The landfill was backfilled and covered with local soil when it was closed in 1969.

Initial discovery of contamination

In 1986, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) collected a water sample from a residence at 9843 Meridian Road in response to a complaint regarding water quality. The water sample was analyzed and found to contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The VOCs found in the sample were: trichloroethylene (TCE), trans-1,2- dichloroethene (DCE), cis-1,2-dichloroethene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, 1,1- dichloroethane, and 1,1-dichloroethene. The VOCs exceeded drinking water Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL) in all cases except for 1,1-dichloroethane which does not have a MCL. TCE was the major contaminant of concern since it exceeded the MCL by a sizeable amount, 4900 parts per billion vs. a MCL of 5 parts per billion. These compounds are typically used as metal degreasers or as ingredients in manufacturing processes. All but 1,1- dichloroethene was subsequently found in soil borings taken from the landfill.

Immediately after receiving the sample results, IDEM and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sampled well water at 67 nearby residences, from the public water supply and school wells, and provided residents at 9843 Meridian Road an alternate water supply of bottled water. An interim carbon filter was installed at the residence in order to remove VOCs from the well water. Later in 1986 a well was drilled into the lower aquifer which provided water free of contaminants. A pond north of the eastern landfill was also sampled and found to contain volatile organic compounds.

In 1986 or 1987 AT&T/Lucent was identified as a potentially responsible party. In 1989 IDEM and AT&T/Lucent signed an Agreed Order to carry out an investigation of the site to determine the nature and extent of contamination. Samples collected from two residences in the Vernon Woods subdivision, 88 Kingbird Drive and 102 Kingbird Drive, which are south of the western landfill, had arsenic concentrations that exceeded Indiana’s drinking water standards. New wells were installed for these residences in 1988.

A water sample collected in September 1988 from the residence at 160 West 1000 North, northwest of the landfill, contained a vinyl chloride concentration of 70 ppb (parts per billion) which exceeded the drinking water MCL of 2 ppb. The well was replaced in November 1988 with a new, deeper well that was placed into the bedrock.

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The Midwest Hazardous Substance Research Center, Michigan State University.
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