UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

REGION VIII ^_____

999 18th STREET - SUITE 500 ^

DENVER, COLORADO 80202-2466

 SPMS.Document ID

2038091

INITIAL POLLUTION REPORT

Midvale Slag OU2 (RV5)

Cemetery

I. HEADING

Date:

Subject:

From:

To:

POLREP No,

11/21/96

Midvale Slag NPL Site (OU2) [RV5] Cemetery

Mike Zimmerman, OSC

Anne Spencer, EPA Headquarters

Emergency Response

INITIAL POLREP #1

II. BACKGROUND

Site No.:

CERCLIS No:

Response Authority:

State Notification:

Action Memorandum:

Start Date:

Completion Date:

71

UTD081834277

CERCLA

UDEQ Notified

10/29/96

10/31/96

N/A

III. SITE INFORMATION

A. Incident Category

Time-Critical, NPL

B. Site Description

1. Site Description

The entire Midvale Slag site consists of about 530

acres; OU2 covers about 200 acres of the Site. A

smelter operated on OU2 from 1897 until 1958. Over the

years, it changed from a copper to a lead smelting

facility, producing gold/lead/silver bullion from

sulfide ores. This Removal Action will address the

need to mitigate the threat of contamination of the

Printed on Recycled Paper
3 ••- •

air, surface and ground water posed by lead and arsenic

which is the result of the slag, dross, and dust from a

former copper and lead smelting operation and calcine

derived from the roasting of arsenopyrite. The Site is

the portion of OU2 which is an old cemetery and

provides 1) direct access to visitors/trespassers in

the areas where hazardous substances exist, and 2)

airborne migration of hazardous substances from the

Site.

2. Description of Threat

The former smelter area, where the Site is

located, contains a variety of heavy metals that are

considered pollutants or hazardous substances as

defined by Section 101(14) of CERCLA because the "mixed

smelter waste" in this area has concentrations of

hazardous substances from the smelter building

demolition debris, tailings (miscellaneous smelter

waste), calcine, and bag dust. The Site has visitors

to the cemetery and trespassers. The semi-arid climate

of the area provides a situation for the hazardous

substances and/or contaminants on-site to be airborne

and migrate off-site during the dry, windy days.

C. Site Evaluation Results

As a part of the Midvale Slag OU2 Engineering

Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/AC), the Site was included in

Phase I and Phase II investigations and background study

(EPA Contract No. 68-W9-0032). The EE/CA Summary Report

(May, 1994) is contained in three volumes and is available

in the Superfund Records Center for Region VIII EPA. The

analyses demonstrate that serious levels of contamination

exist at the cemetery site, with lead and arsenic in the

calcine reaching levels as high as 13,490 ppm and 21,268

ppm, respectively.
>••*

IV. RESPONSE INFORMATION

A. Situation

1. Current Situation

On October 31, 1996, the EPA ERGS Contractor

mobilized to the Site and the excavation was initiated

by a crew of six cleanup technicians, a field clerk,

response management, and an industrial hygienist.

Excavated material was transported to OU2 and

stockpiled in a temporary storage area. Dust

suppression for the stockpile was provided by a water

truck, and a fire hydrant hose was used to suppress

dust from the excavating machinery. Surfactant was

used to cover the stockpile at the end of each workday.

2. Next Steps

The Contractor plans to continue removing the

contaminated material at the direction of EPA.

V. COST INFORMATION

This is the initial POLREP, but costs for the ERGS

Contractor are estimated at $65,000.
POLREP FILE GENERATION

(to be submitted by OSC with initial Polrep)

Site Name: Midvale Slag OU2 (RV5) Cemetery

City/County/State: '

SSW NO. CASE NO.

Polreps Dist. List

1. Program Dir., Doug Side, T. Leaders: Jim Knoy, Steve Hawthorn,

Luke Chavez (rotating)

2. RA, DRA, ARAships

3. ERD - Headquarters ATTN: Director (5202G)

4. Region Response Team Members (via fax - 19 members)

5. 8OC ATTN: Rich Lathrop

6. Legal Depart (ENF) ATTN:

7. OSC: PV.^-e. 7-i^v «

8. EPS - <n^ur^c * o'f

9. Adm. Records Coordinator

10. State Program

Director/Manager

Address

11. National Pollution Fund Center: Y or N

12. Ann Spencer HQ/EPA 703/603-9116
POLREP DISTRIBUTION LOG

SITE: M-idvalp Slag nu? (RV5) Cemetery

Mike Zimmerman

Pnlrep # Date Sent # of Copies

. #1 \\/Siis