Steel Container Manufacturer - Illinois

An industrial facility located in Illinois manufactures steel containers for use in the food and chemical industries. Solvents used in the manufacturing process for covering and finishing the containers were stored in an outside drum storage area and in six 4,000-gallon underground storage tanks located adjacent to the building. The underground storage tanks were removed and the outside drum storage was closed.

A Response Action Plan summarized the site investigations conducted at this facility, defined the extent of soil and groundwater contamination, established the clean-up objectives, and proposed a remedial action for minimizing exposure to impacted soil and groundwater.

The site investigations identified the former underground storage tank area and the former drum storage area as two separate source areas. Free Flow was obtained to manage all soil and groundwater remediation activities for these releases. Soil and groundwater remediation activities were conducted under the Illinois EPA Site Remediation Program.

In the UST area, an air sparge/soil vapor extraction system was installed to address the impacted soil and groundwater. Six air sparge wells were installed in the tank pit to inject air into the subsurface and strip the VOCs from the groundwater. Oxygen and nutrients were added to the subsurface to enhance biodegradation. Three soil vapor extraction (SVE) wells were used to collect vapors generated from the bio-sparging system. The vapors were discharged to the atmosphere under an Illinois EPA permit. Contaminant concentrations in the former UST area decreased by 70 to 90 percent within the first six months of system operation.

In the former drum storage area, the impacted soils were removed, treated using an on-site thermal desorption unit, and reused as backfill. Contaminant concentrations in the former drum storage area decreased by 98.2 to 99.9 percent as a result of this treatment.

Free Flow prepared the Remedial Objectives Report using risk-based cleanup objectives and subsequent Remedial Action Completion Report. The client experienced substantial cost savings by having the soil and groundwater treated on site. The project was completed on a fast-track schedule, and there was minimal disruption of facility operations. In addition, a "No Further Remediation" letter was obtained from the Illinois EPA within two years of system design.