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Fact Sheet
January 2014
Vapor Mitigation Systems to Be Offered to Elmwood Park Residents, Chicago Heights Boulevard Site, St. Louis County, Missouri
BACKGROUND
The Chicago Heights Boulevard Site involves a contaminated groundwater plume located in an unincorporated area of north St. Louis County, Missouri.
At some time before 1988, an unknown quantity of the industrial chemical trichloroethylene (TCE) was released at an industrial property located at 9970 Page Avenue, just northwest of the Elmwood Park neighborhood.
This contamination traveled through the soil and into the groundwater. Since then, TCE and other contaminants have been detected in groundwater and vapors in certain locations of the neighborhood, and TCE vapors have been detected at levels of concern in six homes. Vapor mitigation systems have already been installed in these six residences to remove vapors that may otherwise linger in the homes.
In November 2012, EPA reached a settlement with PerkinElmer, Inc. (PerkinElmer), the current owner of 9970 Page Avenue, the source of the contamination. This settlement, in the form of an Administrative Settlement and Order on Consent, requires PerkinElmer to address this contamination.
ATSDR HEALTH CONSULTATION
On December 2, 2013, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) issued a Health Consultation detailing concerns regarding potential chemical exposures within the area and providing recommendations. A copy of the Health Consultation is available for review online (PDF) (26 pp., 168K, About PDF).
RESPONSE TO RECOMMENDATIONS
On January 7, 2014, PerkinElmer proposed to EPA that it would offer to install free vapor mitigation systems and perform follow-up monitoring of those systems’ effectiveness in an expanded group of residences in the Elmwood Park neighborhood in response to the concerns raised in ATSDR’s Health Consultation.
Homes eligible for installation of the free systems include all houses, multiplexes and apartments located generally south of Meeks Boulevard, west of Dielman Road, north of the railroad line running parallel to the south of Chicago Heights Boulevard, and along Elmridge Place on the west end of the neighborhood.
Eligible property owners are not required, but are strongly encouraged, to participate in this free “pre-emptive mitigation” effort. While there currently exist no sampling data indicating that the contamination is present within this entire area, EPA supports PerkinElmer’s installation of these mitigation systems as a protective measure to guard against potential exposures.
TIMELINE FOR INSTALLATIONS
Although not all details of the installation plan have been worked out yet, it is expected that the systems will be installed in a phased approach over the next few months.
Property owners in the eligible area should expect to be contacted by a representative of PerkinElmer to determine participation in this effort. The representative will ask property owners if they wish to sign an access agreement to have a system installed in their home, and arrange a date for the installation. After the system is installed, each home will need to be sampled periodically to ensure that the system is operating properly.
COMMUNITY ADVISORY GROUP MEETING
The Elmwood Park community has established a Community Advisory Group (CAG). EPA continues to work with the CAG to provide information to the community.
Representatives of EPA Region 7 and PerkinElmer will attend the next CAG meeting to provide information and answer questions about the voluntary mitigation effort. Representatives of ATSDR will also attend to answer questions about the Health Consultation.
The meeting will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 16, 2014, at the First Baptist Church of Elmwood Park, 1452 Dielman Road, St. Louis, Mo., 63132.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
EPA has established an Administrative Record file for the Chicago Heights Boulevard Site. This public record is available online at www.epa.gov/region7/cleanup/chicago_heights.
The Administrative Record is also available for public review during normal business hours at the following locations:
St. Louis County Library
1640 S. Lindbergh
St. Louis, Missouri 63131
Mid-County Library
7821 Maryland Avenue
St. Louis, Missouri 63105
Indian Trails Library
8400 Delport Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63114
EPA Region 7
11201 Renner Blvd.
Lenexa, Kansas 66219
For more information, please contact Belinda Young, Community Involvement Coordinator, at 913-551-7463, 1-800-223-0425 or young.belinda@epa.gov.