PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT
VICKER'S WAREHOUSE SITE
ANDERSON, MADISON COUNTY, INDIANA
The Vicker's Warehouse site is located in Anderson, Madison County, Indiana. The site is made up of two locations: the warehouse and the dump area. Battery breaking operations were conducted at the warehouse site from 1966 until 1984. Approximately 2,500 batteries were processed each day at the site. During site operations, crushed battery casings from the warehouse were removed and placed in the dump area as fill. The fill area is approximately 100 feet by 200 feet and may be as much as 60 feet deep or more.
Lead was found at the warehouse and dump area during sampling beginning in December 1994 through June 1996 at levels ranging from 56,500 - 136,000 parts per million (ppm) and 870 - 4,100 ppm respectively. In June of 1997, Phase I and Phase II Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) projected activities were completed. Activities included: excavation and stabilization of lead-contaminated soils and materials at the warehouse; excavation, backfilling, and revegetation of lead-contaminated areas at the dump area; and disposal of the stabilized soil in an approved disposal facility. Groundwater was not impacted.
EPA and the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) worked together to provide health education and local contacts for the community near the warehouse and the dump area. Health activities included development of a site-specific fact sheet on lead and its adverse effects on health and providing a list of local contacts to schedule free lead screening. To date, no one from the targeted community has taken advantage of the free lead testing offered by the county health department.
ISDH concludes that this site currently poses no public health hazard. No evidence was found
indicating that current exposure to contaminated media is occurring, although past exposure to
contaminated soil was possible; future exposures to contaminated media are not likely to occur
because soils have been remediated. Community concerns were addressed through health
education efforts conducted at the site. No community-specific health outcome data are available
that indicate the site has had an adverse impact on human health. ISDH will review additional
data as they become available and will work closely with the county health department to include
this community as a future target area for lead screening.
Site Issues
The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) received a request from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) in July 1996 to evaluate the health implications of soil lead levels found at the Vicker's Warehouse site. This public health assessment focuses on the most recent data collected and subsequent health activities conducted in the community associated with the site.
Previous ISDH health activities conducted for this site include a health evaluation of preliminary soil samples taken in November of 1994 (1, 2). A summary of the concerns and recommendations, provided to IDEM in November of 1994, are listed below:
Site Visit
In August 1996, representatives from ISDH and IDEM conducted a site visit (3). The site is
divided into two areas of concern: 1) the warehouse at 1625 Ohio Avenue and 2) the dump area
along the south bank of the White River north of the residences in the 1200 block of Maple
Street. The following observations were made during the site visit:
Warehouse
Dump Area
Since that visit, remediation of the site has occurred, and ISDH did not feel another visit was necessary.
Site Description
The Vicker's Warehouse site is located in Anderson, Madison County, Indiana. Two locations
constitute the site: the warehouse and the dump area. (4,5)
Warehouse
The Vicker's Warehouse is located at 1625 Ohio Avenue. It is bordered on the west by
residential properties and an unoccupied commercial structure; on the north (across Ohio Avenue)
by residential properties; on the east by an active retail business; and on the south by the railroad
and residential properties. The closest residence to the site is located approximately 25 feet west
of the site boundary.
The warehouse is located on an irregularly shaped property approximately 1.5 acres in size. The topography of the site is relatively flat with a slight slope toward the west and north. A large warehouse/office building and two Quonset huts are on the property. The battery breaking operations appear to have been conducted in the southern Quonset hut on the site.
Initially the site was operated by the Southern Lead Company of Indiana and owned by the Southern Lead Company of Dallas, Texas. In 1968, Southern Lead became Murph Metals, Inc., and was purchased by RSR Corporation. In 1984, Murph Metals, Inc., became Quemetco Metals Ltd., which remains a wholly-owned subsidiary of RSR Corporation. Battery breaking operations were conducted at the warehouse site from 1966 until 1984. Approximately 2,500 batteries were processed each day at the site. The warehouse site is currently owned by a couple from Anderson, Indiana.
Dump Area
Also considered part of the site is a disposal/dump location approximately ½ mile northeast of the
warehouse on the south bank of the White River (behind the residences in the 1200 block of
Maple Street). The dump is a large fill area between the residential structures and the White
River. The residences are located on a bluff above the river. The back yards of the residences
have been extended toward the river by placing fill over the bluff. The bluff slopes steeply north,
toward White River.
During operation of the site, crushed battery casings from the warehouse were removed and placed in the dump area. Additionally, waste material from other sources may have been disposed in this area. The fill area is approximately 100 feet by 200 feet and may be as much as 60 feet deep or more. The total volume of battery casings and other materials of concern is not known. The fill extends within approximately 20-30 feet of the White River.
The fill material consists of soil and battery casings and other miscellaneous mixed material. This fill material has been used to extend the elevated portions of the back yards of some residences on Maple Street. The back yards of these properties extend to the White River. Structures have been erected in the actual fill material. The structures include decks and steps descending to the river. Additionally, considerable landscaping/soil movement has occurred in some of the fill material.
Battery casing material was located at the base of the bluff within a few feet of the White River. This material appeared to have been washed down the slope by surface run-off. Immediately west of the dump area is an unnamed creek flowing into the river (6, 7).
Site Hydrogeology
The hydrogeology of the two parts of the site is somewhat different. The warehouse site is
located in an up-slope area. The aquifers which underlay this area are covered by significant
amounts of soil, including compact glacial till. The aquifers in this area are a buried sand and
gravel aquifer and a carbonate bedrock aquifer located in the Silurian limestone/dolomite
formation. The dump site location on the banks of the river is very close to, if not above, the
surficial sand and gravel aquifer located along the river course (8).
Other areas of Interest
Directly across White River, north of the dump area, is Edgewood Park. This is a city park
maintained by the Anderson Parks and Recreation Department. The park includes recreational
play equipment.
White River is a recreational and scenic asset in Anderson. Recreational activities on the river include sport fishing. No heavy metal-related consumption advisories for fish have been placed on the main stem of White River in Madison County (9). Although some potential exists for lead from the site to have washed into the White River, no sediment or biota data are available for this section of the river. The closest downstream fish tissue samples did not have appreciable levels of lead in them (10).
Vicker's Warehouse is a CERCLIS listed facility. During September 1994, IDEM conducted a site inspection of the Vicker's Warehouse site. IDEM representatives collected 15 soil samples from the warehouse and dump locations. Chemical analyses of the samples indicated that lead was present at the site at levels ranging from 200 to 82,000 parts per million (ppm) total lead (table 1). Metals other than lead were not detected at levels exceeding comparison values during this sampling event.
IDEM conducted an immediate removal action to secure the site by constructing a fence. IDEM subsequently requested assistance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region V, to evaluate site conditions for removal action under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).
In December 1994, EPA and IDEM conducted a site assessment at the Vicker's Warehouse site. During the site assessment, EPA collected six soil samples: three from the warehouse site and three from the dump site. All six samples were analyzed for total metals. Analytic results of the samples from the warehouse location indicated lead levels present from 56,500 to 92,000 ppm total lead. Samples from the dump area contained lead levels from 275 to 4,100 ppm (table 1).
Subsequent to the EPA Site Assessment, an Action Memorandum was issued by EPA Region V in April of 1996. The Action Memorandum noted that the threats to public health presented by the site necessitated a time-critical action to remove the contaminants at the site. The Action Memorandum noted that contaminants at both locations were considered part of the site and could lead to human exposure. The memorandum also noted the possibility for off-site migration of contaminants through wind blown dust or surface run-off during a rainstorm (5).
In June 1996, site characterization sampling was done at both the warehouse site and the dump site. Analytic results from the sampling indicated the presence of soil lead levels in the warehouse area as high as 136,000 ppm. Analytic results from the dump site indicated the presence of soil lead levels as high as 870 ppm. (6).
Table 1. Analytic Results for Vicker's Warehouse
| Total Lead Range (ppm) |
Sample Date | Sample Description | |
| 200- 82,000 | 9/1/94 | Warehouse & Dump Area | Initial IDEM Invest. |
| 56,500 - 92,000 | 12/7/94 | Warehouse | Site Assessment |
| 275 - 4,100 | 12/7/94 | Dump area | Site Assessment |
| 11 - 136,000 | 6/27 & 6/28/96 |
Warehouse | Site Characterization |
| 12- 870 | 6/27 & 6/28/96 |
Dump area | Site Characterization |
| 100-160 | 5/28/97 | Two residential properties near warehouse site | |
The data presented in the tables have been reviewed and found to meet QA/QC applicable standards.
In August 1996 and January 1997, EPA produced a Phase I and Phase II report (respectively) which explained the results of sampling and recommended the following actions:
Phase I
Phase II
Actual work was completed June 1997.
In April 1997, the EPA project manager contacted ISDH for assistance in providing health education and local contacts for the community near the warehouse and the dump area. ISDH created a site-specific fact sheet with information on the possible health effects resulting from lead exposure and with local contacts to contact for free lead screening and about additional health concerns. The fact sheet was distributed door-to-door by EPA and the local health department.
Demographics
The warehouse is in a mixed residential/commercial area 6 blocks east of downtown Anderson. The dump site is in a residential neighborhood directly behind homes on Maple Street.
Anderson is in Madison County, Indiana. Madison County has a total population of approximately 130,000 people. Of the 130,000 people, about 10,000 people are black, and 1,100 are non-white/ non-black members of a minority group. Approximately 28,000 women of child-bearing age live in Madison County, and about 10,000 children are under the age of 6 (11).
Within the immediate vicinity of the warehouse site (500 meters), the total population is comprised of approximately 9,700 people. Of those 9,700 people, approximately 600 are children less than 6 years old, and about 2,700 are women of childbearing age. Many of the women of child-bearing age residing near the site are students at Anderson University. Other population groups represented in the area near the site include approximately 425 black individuals; 80 non-white/non-black; and approximately 300 households headed by women with children under the age of 18.
Within 1,500 meters of the warehouse site, the total population is about 21,500 people. Of those 21,500 people, approximately 1,700 are children under 6 years old, and approximately 5,200 are women of childbearing age.
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