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Fact Sheet
July 2010
Announcing the Availability of the Second Five-Year Review Report, Sheller-Globe Corporation Disposal Superfund Site, Keokuk, Lee County, Iowa
INTRODUCTION
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducts regular five-year reviews on Superfund sites where cleanups have been completed. These reviews are required by the Superfund law [42 U.S.C. Section 9621 (c)].
EPA Region 7 has completed the second five-year review of the Sheller-Globe Corporation Disposal site near Keokuk, Lee County, Iowa.
Site Background
The Sheller-Globe Corporation Disposal site is located in Lee County about 4 miles north of Keokuk, Iowa. It is also known as the Grimes Property site. The site includes a primary disposal area and a smaller secondary disposal area known as the North Hill disposal area. The North Hill disposal area was subsequently considered not to be a source of contamination. The primary disposal area is a 6.6 acre portion of the site bordered by Airport Road (340th Street) to the south, 260th Avenue to the west, and unnamed intermittent streams to the north and east.
From 1948 until 1972, waste materials
from manufacturing rubber products and automobile components were taken to the site from the former Sheller-Globe Keokuk plant. The materials, including rubber products, wood, paper, plastics, and reportedly some solvents and paint sludge, were periodically burned and the ash spread over the hillsides. In 1972, disposal at the site was discontinued and the area was covered with soil. In 1980, a house was constructed on the primary disposal area portion of the site. The residents of the house were permanently relocated in 1991 and the house was subsequently demolished during site cleanup activities.
In October 1990, EPA and Sheller-Globe (now United Technologies Corporation) entered into an Administrative Order on Consent (AOC). The AOC required Sheller-Globe to conduct a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) to determine the nature and extent of contamination at the site and evaluate alternatives to address contamination at the site.
The RI field activities included sampling of ash material, soil, surface water, sediment and ground water. The analytical results of the samples were used to characterize the risk the site posed to human health and the environment. Work conducted as part of the RI and the human health and ecological risk assessments indicated metals found in the ash material at the primary disposal area portion of the site were the primary source of contamination.In addition to the demolition of the house, construction of soil and vegetative covers over areas of exposed ash material in the primary disposal area portion of the site were also completed in November 1999 as part of the remedial action.
An Environmental Protection Declaration of Restrictive Covenants was recorded with the Lee County Recorder's office to prohibit the disturbance of the surface or subsurface of the primary disposal area portion of the site and prohibit residential use of the property.
Following the remedial action, periodic field inspections of the primary disposal area portion of the site have been conducted. These post-remedial action inspections have determined there has been no significant disturbance of the ground surface, the vegetative cover has become established, and the property remains vacant.
The first five-year review was conducted in 2005 and concluded the remedy at the site to be protective of human health and the environment.
The Second Five-Year Review
As part of the five-year review process, EPA conducted a site inspection on May 11, 2010. Relevant documents were reviewed, including reports that documented the post-remedial action inspections conducted by United Technologies Corporation in September 2006, September 2008, and May 2010.
This second five-year review concluded the remedy at the Sheller-Globe Corporation Disposal site is protective of human health and the environment. No issues were identified. Periodic inspections will continue to determine if any maintenance activities are necessary and assess compliance with the restrictions as stated in the Environmental Protection Declaration of Restrictive Covenants.
The final report, dated June 30, 2010, is available at the site information repositories and on the EPA Region 7 Website at:
Additional Information
Detailed site information is available during normal business hours at the following locations:
| Keokuk Public Library | EPA Region 7 Records Center |
| 210 N. Fifth | 901 N. Fifth St. |
| Keokuk, Iowa | Kansas City, Kan. |
| (319) 524-1483 | (913) 551-4038 |
Questions or requests for information can be submitted to:
Fritz Hirter
Community Involvement Coordinator
U.S. EPA Region 7
901 N. Fifth St.
Kansas City, KS 66101
Toll Free: (800) 223-0425
E-mail: hirter.fritz@epa.gov