r

SDMS Document ID

2038088

INITIAL POLREP

I. HEADING

DATE:

FROM:

TO:

SUBJECT:

POLREP:

II. BACKGROUND

April 17, 1990

Mike Zimmerman, OSC

Hans J. Crump, Acting Director ERD

Midvale Slag Site, Midvale, Utah

No. 1

Site No: 71

D.O. No: 7334-08-046

Response Authority: CERCLA

NPL Status: Proposed NPL Site

Start Date: March 30, 1990

Approval Status: Action Memorandum has been approved by

the Division Director March 15, 1990

III. INCIDENT INFORMATION

A. Situation:

The Midvale Slag Site is located in Midvale, Utah,

approximately 12 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Additionally, the site is located along the Wasatch

Front in the Jordan River Valley, which is a flat,

sediment-filed valley surrounded by the fault-block

Wasatch Mountains. Portions of the site lie in the

floodplain of the Jordan River.

The site consists of about two (2) million tons of slag

from a former copper and lead smelting facility on an

area of about 330 acres. The smelter was operated from

1902 until 1958 by U.S. Smelting, Refining, and Mining

Company (later known as UV Industries). Over the years

the smelter was changed from a copper to a lead smelting

facility producing gold-lead-silver bullion from sulfide

ores. An arsenic-recovery plant was also part of the

smelting process included slag and dross; whereas the

principal waste end-product of the arsenic recovery

process was baghouse dust. The volume of baghouse dust

and dross have been estimated at 400 and 44,100 cubic

yards, respectively. The property was purchased in 1964

by Valley Materials Corporation (VMC), who markets the

slag materials left on site. Blackhawk Slag Products

operates the site for recovering and processing the slag

for use as materials for railroad beds and asphalt

highway construction and as a sandblasting abrasive.

The site is only partially fenced.
B. Type of Indicant:

From previous smelter operations abundant concentrations

of lead, arsenic, cadium, copper, silver, chromium, and zinc

are contained in the slag, dross, and baghouse dust found

found on site. The primary constituents of concern for this

Removal Action are arsenic and lead found in the dross.

C. Preliminary Assessment Results:

A Preliminary Endangerment Assessment by the Agency for

Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) was prepared

for EPA. ATSDR recommended complete restriction of the site

due to a public health concern. EPA confirmed the ATSDR

recommendation that the site should be fenced based on the

high concentrations of arsenic (+10,000 ppm) and lead

(+7,500 ppm) within the dross material on the surface of the

site.

IV. RESPONSE INFORMATION

A. Status of Actions:

An ACTION MEMORANDUM for installing a fence to secure

the area was approved by 8HWM on March 15, 1990. The

current project ceiling is $225,250.

A delivery order was issued 'to ERGS Zone 4 contractor

on March 29, 1990.

On March 30, 1990, the ERGS Response Manager and the

EPA OSC rendezvoused on site to initiate the Removal.

Site work began at approximately at 4:00 p.m. as ERGS

established an outpost for the security guards to provide

site surveillance. Phase I construction will begin with

repairs to the fence bordering the southern and eastern

boundaries of the 11 acre site. Fencing in this .area of

the site borders property owned by Sharon Steel Corp.

Phase II will consist of repairs to existing fence

bordering property owned and operated by Valley Materials

plus installation of new fencing, as appropriate, for the

remainder of the site. Phase II is dependent on

negiotations with the prime PRP, Valley Materials. The

consummation of an AOC with Valley Materials will lead, to

an Enforcement Lead Removal. Failure to close on the Order

will mean the continuation of the Removal as a Fund Lead.

EPA-OSC obtained a site access agreement from Sharon

Steel on March 29, 1990, covering their 11 acres.

Sharon Steel declined to participate in the Removal.

Permanent access to the VMC property is.

contingent on current negiotations over the AOC.
Should VMC decline construction of their

portion of the fence, EPA will pursue access, either

through PRP consent or Court Order and finish the Removal

B. Next Steps:

Negiotations with the PRP are in progress and closure

is expected in the very near future. See above discussion

for planned fencing agenda.

IV. COST INFORMATION

Cleanup Contractors

TAT/BOR

Intramural

(HQ & Region)

CONTINGENCY

Amount

Budgeted

$160,

25,

12,

27,

000

000

500

750

Cost

To Date

$7,000

6,000

4^000

-0-

Amount

Remaining

$153,

19,

8,

27,

000

000

500

750

TOTAL $225,250 $17,000 $208,250
POLREP FILE GENERATION

(To be submitted by OSC along with first POLREP)

ite Name

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Pollutant, magnitude (if app). waterway affected (if app)

\ City, County, State

SSICDD IF Case #

COPIES TO BE SENT TO:

1. Branch Chief/Section Chief

2. Regional Administrator/Deputy Regional Administrator/

Division Director

3. ERD - Headquarters Attn: Tim Fields

(Generator E-Mails to QiLaan Janowialc)

4. Regional Response Team Mailing List

5. Office of External Affairs (80EA) Attn: Nola Cooke

6. Office of Regional Counsel (SRC)

Attn: Metcalf/Attorney |Jj fyt-T CLftU»A

7. On-Scene Coordinator

OTHERS :

8. State Program Director/Manager .CT - Co

CT L t M

9 .

10.

1 1 .