PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT
NORTHSIDE SANITARY LANDFILL
ZIONSVILLE, BOONE COUNTY, INDIANA
The privately owned Northside Sanitary Landfill (NSL) is about 10 miles northwest of Indianapolis in the southeast corner of Boone County. This site is bordered on the north by the Envirochem Corporation (ECC), another Superfund site. This site is a public health hazard. Evidence exists that exposures to contaminants have occurred in the past, are presently occurring, or are likely to occur in the future. The estimated exposures are to sodium, and potentially to chlorinated volatile organic compounds and inorganic substances at concentrations in the residential wells that upon long-term exposures (greater than 1 year), can cause adverse health effects to any segment of the receptor population.
The community-specific health outcome data do not provide any evidence that the site poses an adverse health threat to the public.
Potential exposure pathways exist for individuals involved in recreational activities in Finley Creek, and to individuals eating aquatic life caught in Finley Creek. Because ECC and NSL are so close together, it is difficult to discern the actual source of contaminants. Remedial workers are at risk of adverse health effects if safety and health guidelines are not followed.
The focus of the community concerns are on adverse health effects due to site related chemicals. The chemicals found in the on-site leachate present a future potential for release and off-site migration, thus possibly resulting in adverse health effects to individuals living adjacent to the site.
In accordance with past Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) recommendations and the
Record of Decision (ROD) signed on May 1991 and a ROD amendment signed July 31, 1991, the Indiana State
Department of Health (ISDH) has recommended the following: 1) provide frequent monitoring of residential wells
for contaminant migration in groundwater; 2) provide off-site groundwater monitoring designed to ensure that no
contamination reaches the residential wells; 3) provide drinking water to households with sodium contaminated
private wells; 4) inform residents with private wells of the possible health effects caused by the drinking of water
containing high levels of sodium; 5) implement institutional controls in the near future to prevent the use of the
contaminated aquifer for drinking water supplies; 6) sample fish in Finley Creek and Eagle Creek for site related
contaminants, and issue a fish advisory if appropriate; 7) implement actions for monitoring or other removal and/or
remedial actions needed to ensure that humans are not exposed to significant concentrations of site related chemicals
in the off-site leachate and surface water; 8) characterize off-site soil; 9) protect persons on and off the site from
exposure to dusts or vapors that may be released during remediation; 10) provide remedial workers with adequate
protective equipment and training in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.120.
A. Site Description and History
The Northside Sanitary Landfill (NSL), which is privately owned, covers approximately 70 acres of a 170-acre parcel of land (Figure 1, Appendix A). The site is in Union Township about 10 miles northwest of Indianapolis in the southeast corner of Boone County. The site is bounded on the east and south by Finley Creek, on the north by uncultivated farmlands, and on the west by an unnamed ditch which separates NSL from the Envirochem Corporation (ECC) site. A separate Remedial Investigation (RI) was conducted for that site. Over 16 million gallons of hazardous waste have been deposited in the landfill. The NSL opened in the 1950s as an open dump. In November 1980, the landfill operator filed for Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Part A, application for interim status facility.
During its operation Northside Sanitary Landfill received liquid wastes including tar materials, sulfuric acid, paint wastes, still-bottom sludge, oils, casting and grinding sludge, methylene chloride waste, lead ash, halogenated solvents, and cadmium plating waste. From 1972 to 1973, numerous operation deficiencies were reported by the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) which resulted in orders by the ISDH to cease operations. These included the failure to cover refuse, surface burning, underground fires, leachate, and vermin problems. Community relations of the ISDH received a call in November 1975 from a resident near the NSL reporting an oil slick on Eagle Creek. ISDH staff investigated the reports and concluded that most of the oil came from the ECC site. There was also a report in October 1977 of illness among cattle which may have been drinking from Finley Creek. Follow-up investigations were inconclusive. Beginning in November 1980, municipal and hazardous waste was disposed on the west part of the site and continued until January 1983. In 1982 the owner, at the direction of the ISDH, installed a leachate collection system and three submerged leachate collection tanks on the west side of the site. After the owner removed 400,000 gallons of leachate from the three tanks and disposed it by spraying it on the landfill, the Indiana Division of Land Pollution Control (IDLPC) advised the owner that leachate would have to be solidified prior to disposal. By January 1983, the State Environmental Management Board issued a Notice of Violation and ordered the owner to stop accepting hazardous liquid waste. A request by the owner for a renewal permit was refused by the IDLPC in 1984. The site was placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) in September 1983.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) initiated a RI of the site in December 1984, which was completed in March 1986 (EPA, Final Remedial Investigation Report). Soil, hydrogeologic, surface water, and sediment investigations were conducted. A Public Comment Feasibility Study concerning cleanup alternatives was prepared in December 1986 (EPA, Public Comment Feasibility Study).
In February 1987 the EPA requested the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to review an Endangerment Assessment (EA) for the site. An EA is an estimation of the magnitude and probability of actual or potential harm to public health and welfare, or the environment, caused by the threatened or actual release of a hazardous substance (EPA, Endangerment Assessment). Data indicated that seepage of contaminants from the NSL site was continuing several years after discontinuation of the acceptance of hazardous liquid wastes. It was concluded that seepage of contaminants should be monitored on a scheduled basis to assure that contaminants remain below hazardous levels.
Recommendations made by ATSDR following the review (February 13, 1987) of the EPA endangerment assessment were as follows:
In September 1987 the EPA selected the following remedies to address the contamination at the site: (1) restrict access to the site to prevent further development of the site; (2) install a multi-layer cap over the site; (3) re-route surface waters to reduce the potential for chemical migration; (4) collect and treat leachate; (5) collect and treat groundwater; and (6) monitor leachate and groundwater to ensure treatment effectiveness. The Record of Decision (ROD) included not only the NSL site, but also the ECC site. Once the original ROD was signed, EPA began negotiating a settlement with the potentially responsible parties (PRPs) for the cleanup of the site. In March 1990 a Consent Decree, which describes cleanup activities at the site, was agreed upon by EPA, the State of Indiana, and the NSL settling defendants (parties who have signed the Consent Decree). The Consent Decree was entered into federal court in November 1991.
In April 1991 EPA proposed an amendment to the ROD for the NSL site. The primary reason for amending the 1987 ROD was to reflect the decision to implement separate, complimentary remedies for the ECC and NSL sites instead of the one combined remedy selected; and secondly, to modify the chosen remedy.
For the NSL site, the major components of the remedial action as modified include:
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access restrictions; |
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RCRA Subtitle C cap and gas venting systems; |
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a hydraulic isolation wall south and west of the NSL site and north of Finley Creek; |
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a leachate collection trench north, northwest, and east of NSL; |
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a combined groundwater and leachate collection trench south and southwest of NSL; |
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a pipeline to the Indianapolis Department of Public Works sewer system, and the treatment of the groundwater and leachate at the Indianapolis publicly owned treatment works (POTW) or elsewhere in the event that the POTW is unavailable; and |
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groundwater, surface water, and leachate monitoring programs. |
A public meeting for the proposed ROD amendment was held in May 1991 in Zionsville, Indiana (Proposed Record of Decision Amendment). The ROD amendment was signed in July 1991 by EPA with the concurrence of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM). (Declaration for the Record of Decision Amendment)
After the Consent Decree and the ROD amendment have been finalized, the remedial design (RD) and remedial action (RA) phases will begin.
On June 12, 1992, Ms. Dollis Wright and Mr. Garry Mills of the ISDH, and staff from IDEM and NSL (the property owner) visited the site. During the site visit we observed the following:
On September 8, 1994, another site visit was conducted at the Northside Sanitary Landfill site by Ms. Dollis Wright and Mr. Garry Mills of the ISDH. Also present were staff from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. The following are observations made during the site visit, and actions taken at the site as of September 8, 1994:
C. Demographics, Land Use, and Natural Resource Use
Demographics
The 1990 Census showed the population of Boone County to be 38,147; and the population of Zionsville, which is 5 miles south of the site (nearest town to the site), is 5,281. Union Township has a population of 1,707 with 569 households. It has a total of 889 males and 818 females. The origin of race in Union Township is represented by the following: white (1,687); black (10); American Indian, Eskimo, or Aleut (5); Asian or Pacific Islander (5); and other race (0).
The small residential community of Northfield is 1/4 mile north/northwest of the site. The nearest residence is 600 feet from the site. Approximately 50 residences are within 1 mile of the site. The Northfield Community Church, along with several residences owned by the NSL private owner's family, border the site.
Land Use
The site is in a rural area and is bounded on the south and east by farmland. The majority of the residences in the vicinity are north and west of the site. Farming, mainly cash grain and livestock, is the main enterprise in the county. Corn, soybeans, and wheat are the main crops.
Natural Resource Use
Finley Creek flows east and south of the site, while the north and west sides drain into an unnamed ditch. This ditch lies between NSL and ECC. Finley Creek (less than 1 mile from the site) flows into Eagle Creek about 1/2 mile downstream from the site. Eagle Creek flows south for 10 miles before it empties into Eagle Creek Reservoir (9 miles from the site), which supplies approximately six percent of the drinking water for the City of Indianapolis. Surface water use downstream, within 3 miles of the site, is used for fishing and wading by area residents. The unnamed ditch and Finley Creek are very shallow in the immediate vicinity of the NSL site and, therefore, are not conducive for most recreational activities.
There are 1,760 persons within 3 miles of the site who use private residential wells for all domestic purposes. These wells are all located in the water-bearing glacial till aquifer. The nearest residential well is about 1,000 feet west of the site with a well depth of 40 feet. There are four industrial wells (approximately 40 feet deep) located on the NSL site and one irrigation well (166 feet deep) located within 1 mile of the site.
This subsection identifies the relevant, available databases; their evaluation occurs in the PUBLIC HEALTH
IMPLICATIONS
section. Cancer may be a plausible health outcome from long-term exposure to at least one of the
contaminants of concern. The ISDH maintains a statewide cancer registry; however, data regarding cancer incidence
by city and county are not yet available. In addition, the ISDH maintains a mortality database by county. Mortality
data on Boone County cancer deaths are available (1950-1979). The public health implications of these data will be
evaluated in the Health Outcome Data Evaluation subsection.
The community health concerns in this subsection of the public health assessment are based on the Final Community Relations Plan (June 1986) and the Record of Decision Amendment Proposed for the NSL Public Meeting (May 1991).
The Boone County Health Department was contacted in addition to IDEM in March 1992 for any community health concerns (EPA Record of Decision Amendment; EPA Final Community Relations Plan).
The community health concerns listed will be addressed in the PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLICATIONS section of this public health assessment.
The health assessment was made available for public comment on May 21, 1993. No additional health-related concerns were reported. Responses to all comments received can be found in APPENDIX C.
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