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April!23,!2021!
!
TO:! US!EPA,!Region!5!
FROM:!!! Michael! E.! Ketterer,! Ph.D.,! Professor! Emeritus,! Chemistry! and! Biochemistry!
!
SUBJECT:! Comments!on!the!Five-Year!Review!of!the!Industrial!Access!Landfill!CERCLA!
Site,!Uniontown,!OH!
The!subject!of!this!memorandum!is!to!provide!public!comments!to!USEPA!R egion!5!and!all!
interested!stakeholders,!on!the!matter!of!the!Industrial!Access!Landfill!(IEL)!CERCLA!Site,!in!
order!to!provide!input!relevant!to!EPA!fulfilling!its!mission!of!protecting!human!health!and!
the!environment.!!!
The!comments!discuss!the!need!for!EPA-Region!5!to!perform!additional!monitoring!and/or!
other!actions!at!IEL!that!are!not!currently!being!performed,!organized!by!topic!below:!
1.!!Vapor!intrusion:!!At!the!IEL,!EPA!has!failed!to!monitor!potential!vapor!transport!in!the!
unsaturated! (vadose)!zone!above!the!water!table,!despite!ample!evidence!that!suggests!the!
existence!of!a!vapor!intrusion!problem!in!residential!areas!near!the!IEL.!!In!referencing!Table!
5!of!EPA’s!1989!Record!of!Decision!(ROD),!it!is!clear!that!there!is!a!substantial!list!of!volatile!
hazardous!substances!that!were!detected!in!the!extraction!system!gas!vents.!!These!same!
substances! have! not! been! remediated! from! the! landfill! itself! (other! than! through! air!
exchange!and/or!off-site!migration!via!vapors!or!solutes).!!Toxic!volatile!organic!solvents!are!
continuing!to! move!within!the! saturated!zone,!and!are!migrating!as!vapors!in!the!vadose!
zone,!to!emerge!in!crawl!spaces,!sumps,!and!basements.!!!
Why!is!Region!5!paying!significant!attention!to!vapor!intrusion!at!the!proximal!Hoover!Site!
in!North!Canton,!Ohio!while!neglecting!the!same!problem!at!the!IEL?!!!
The!issue!of!vapor!intrusion!and!vadose!zone!transport!of!volatile!solvents!int o!residences!
may!not!have!been!fully!recognized!by!EPA!and!the!best!available!remediation!practices!at!
the!time!the!IEL!ROD!was!written .!!However,!the!issue!has!been!more!recently!recognized,!
and! indeed,! EPA! Region! 5! has! published! a! specific! guidance! document! “Vapor! Intrusion!
Guidebook”!issued!in!October!2010.!!!
At#the#IEL,#Region#5#is#failing#to#heed#its#own#vapor#intrusion#guidance.###