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Superfund Program Implements the Recovery Act
Continental Steel
Kokomo, IndianaSite Description
The 183-acre Continental Steel Corporation site is in a mixed residential, commercial, and industrial
area. From 1914 to 1986, it was an active steel manufacturing facility that made wire, nails and rods
from scrap. The plant’s steel manufacturing operations included the use, handling, storage and
disposal of hazardous materials. After the company filed for bankruptcy in 1986, EPA and the
Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) found soil, sediments, surface water and
ground water contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs) and several metals, including lead, on or near the site. Lead contamination has been detected in residential soils. The closest residents to the plant are within 100 feet east of the property, and a public recreation area, Highland Park, is immediately adjacent to the property.
Cleanup Activities to Date
EPA placed the site on the National Priorities List in 1989. Since that time, EPA and IDEM
have conducted several response actions at the site that have significantly reduced the risk posed
to the nearby community. These actions included the treatment and discharging of the site’s waste
acid solution; stabilization of metal sludge; and the removal of 2,450 buried drums, 1,250 cubic yards
of contaminated soil, 90 cubic yards of lead dust, 120 cubic yards of PCBs and 2,280 tons of
solidified soil. Further site cleanup activity accomplished involved removal of lead-contaminated
residential soils, and demolition and decontamination of the main plant building.
Recovery Act Project Activity
EPA will use the $5-10 million in Recovery Act funds allocated to this site to support cleanup actions
related to the ground water and slag processing area. To address the large portion of the VOC-contaminated aquifer, EPA will use the Recovery Act funds to install ground water extraction wells; operate the wells to contain the existing contaminant plume; and remove contaminated ground water and send it off-site for treatment. EPA also will use the Recovery Act funds to re-grade the slag pile and to install a protective soil cover over the area once the re-grading is complete.
To find out more about:
- This Superfund site, go to: www.epa.gov/region5/sites/continental/;
- The Recovery Act and:
- Superfund go to: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/eparecovery/index.html;
- EPA, go to: http://www.epa.gov/recovery; and
- The United States, go to: http://www.recovery.gov.