US EPA Region 5
Aaron Green, IEL Project Manager
Subject: IEL's Chromium - is the dangerous HEX form? & source of explosiveness at the site
Good morning Aaron:
As Region 5 continues to stonewall in providing concerned citizens with testing results derived from the polluters' sampling of both gases and groundwater since 2018, preventing independent experts from reviewing the findings upfront, prior to any public meeting, thus thumbing it's nose at community involvement, transparency, right to know issues, ....
surely you are able to bare minimum respond today regarding these two basic questions:
1) In the most recent Uniontown IEL Five Year Review, you requested the PRPs to do further speciation analysis to learn if the Chromium, that has been found in groundwater for decades now, is the more dangerous form, Chromium HEX.
Did you obtain a concrete peer reviewable response finally via proper testing on the nature of the IEL Chromium? Is is HEX Chrome?
2) After acknowledging the site was generating explosive levels of gases (again) putting the site out of compliance , reported back in approx. 2016, ten years ago now!? - after permitting the PRPs to completely shut down the gas control system in 2005, without affording the proper legal due process being made to the public, - outrageously, Senator Sherrod Brown's concerns even went unanswered as to why this deviation of the law was allowed. ) ....
...surely by now, R5 EPA should have a solid scientific answer as to what is causing the IEL explosive readings after some fifty years! Independent gas experts say that Methane (most likely) is NOT the source of this explosiveness, given the age of the dump, saying the Methane should be quite tapped out by now. This begs the question what IS generating the site explosiveness? Do not dare tell us PRPs monitored for "Methane" offsite and didn't find it, therefore asserting "no problem" when Methane has always registered low, even back in 1985 the EPA's Emergency Response manager told us that was precisely why they had to bring in "auxiliary fuel" to keep the active MVS system running , due to low Methane amounts!!
There must be full accounting now regarding the IEL gases and what is generating explosive readings onsite, without any further footdragging.
CCLT requests a prompt thorough response to both issues discussed that may be peer reviewed as soon as possible.
Concerned Citizens of Lake Twp./Uniontown IEL Superfund Site, Ohio