Milwaukee Solvay Coke & Gas Site

Site Information

Milwaukee, WI (Milwaukee County)
EPA ID# WIN000508215
This site is not on the NPL; it is a Superfund Alternative Site (SAS)

SAS Fact Sheet

CERCLIS listing
Alias(es): N/A
Photos

Contact Information

Community Involvement Coordinator
Susan Pastor (pastor.susan@epa.gov)
312-353-1325 or 800-621-8431, ext. 31325

Remedial Project Manager
Denise Boone (boone.denise@epa.gov)
312-886-6217 or 800-621-8431, ext. 66217

Assistant Regional Counsel
Craig Melodia (melodia.craig@epa.gov)
312-353-8870 or 800-621-8431, ext. 38870

Wisconsin DNR State Project Manager
Margaret Brunette
(margaret.brunette@wisconsin.gov), 414-263-8557

Repositories

(where to view written records)

Bay View Library
2566 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.
Milwaukee, WI

Links

Health Consultation, Solvay Coke Brownfield

EPA Superfund Home Page
Region 5 Superfund
Superfund glossary

Superfund Alternative Sites (SAS)

Background

The Solvay Coke & Gas site is located in Milwaukee, Wis. It covers about 46 acres in a primarily industrial and commercial area north of the Kinnickinnic River and west of the Lincoln Memorial Harbor. The site is bordered to the north by East Greenfield Avenue, to the northeast by railroad tracks and a coal storage area, to the east and south by the Kinnickinnic River, and to the west by more railroad tracks.

Various industrial activities occurred on different lots on the property maybe as early as 1866. A manufactured coke and gas facility located on the northern portion was operated by various entities until around 1983. Wisconsin Wrecking operated a scrap and salvage operation on the northern portion until January 2003. Most of the major coke and gas manufacturing buildings on the northern half of the site were demolished in 2003 when EPA oversaw a hazardous waste removal.

This is what was removed and shipped off site for proper disposal:

asbestos-containing material in many of the structures, on piping inside and outside the structures and loose asbestos-containing material located on the ground
coal tar from the manufactured gas plant operations in tanks, piping, on the ground, and in an open pit area
numerous above-ground storage tanks and associated piping containing coal tar and other residues
other hazardous substances located throughout the site such as drums of naphthalene crystals and oil in old electrical transformers.

A Community Advisory Group (CAG) is one way the community can get involved. Learn more about CAGs

Site Updates || Technical Documents || Legal Agreements

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Site Updates

December 2008

Various types of field work have been ongoing since October 2008 to get a general idea of the environmental problems at the site. In addition to typical soil, sediment and monitoring well sampling, this is what has been going on:

Test Trench Investigation

The purpose of the test trenching investigation is to:

Verify the presence, size, and reliability of underground structures which appear to be concrete building foundations.
Evaluate conditions in and around these underground structures.
Collect samples of affected soil below the ground's surface.
Collect samples of buried waste.

Stockpile Sampling

The previous property owners demolished many buildings on site in the mid-1980s and stored scrap material there in stockpiles. The stockpiles will be sampled to determine if the material must be deposed of or if it can be reused on site as fill material.

Direct Sensing

A tool called a membrane interface probe is being used to evaluate the contamination and to study underground rock layers. Vertical contamination is found by heating affected soil and ground water via a very hot element on the probe's tip. Gases are transported through the air and passed through a series of tubes and detectors to find organic contaminants (chemicals that evaporate into the air).

These studies are expected to continue through March 2009. Other types of studies will follow later in the year to include more soil and sediment sampling to refine the initial information gathered.

All of the work is being paid for by the companies responsible for the contamination: