The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released an article Tuesday announcing a Wisconsin facility is one of 11 new hazardous waste sites on its National Priorities List.
The EPA list deems areas risky to human health and the Amcast Industrial Corporation in Cedarburg, Wis., is one of them. Amcast Industrial Corporation, now closed for several years, has been responsible for the emission of toxic organic compounds called PCBs since the 1970s, said EPA spokesperson Mick Hans.
Although Amcast has not generated new PBCs since corporate production came to a halt, Hans said residual toxins can still be found embedded underneath the plant in the sewers leading to local waterway Cedar Creek.
“There is potential for [the PBCs] to move around,” Hans said. “We were dealing with [Amcast] even before this listing.”
Superfund, the federal program in charge of the clean up process for NPL sites, deals with some of the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites, according to the EPA report.
According to Assistant Minority Leader Rep. Mark Gottlieb, R-Port Washington, the dangers of Amcast are nothing new.
“This (Cedarburg) site has been known about in the community for several years,” Gottlieb said.
Hans said as Amcast went bankrupt in early 2009, they were unable to negotiate an agreeable solution for the environmental damage. Consequently, the cleanup process fell to Superfund and the federal government.
EPA Associate Regional Counsel Attorney Richard Nagle said investigation of the site is expected to last one year before concrete action can happen. He added the sewer lines that run beneath the plant, as well as adjacent Quarry Pond, will be assessed to form a plan of restoration.
“There’s no such thing as ‘typical’ when it comes to these Superfund sites,” EPA media liaison Dale Kemery said.
According to Kemery, many factors play a role in determining the cleanup time for a specific site. He said severity is dependent on the types of contaminants found at the location and how widespread the contamination is.
