April 14, 2005

The Department of Environmental Quality has authorized $1.8 million to address soil and groundwater contamination at a former glass and salt manufacturing facility in Saginaw.

Waste products from plate glass manufacturing operations were routed to a storage area (lagoon) on the south side of the manufacturing plant which extends to the Tittabawassee River shoreline. An investigation by the DEQ identified levels of arsenic contamination up to 20 times the allowable levels for direct contact throughout the lagoon and in a farm field located west of the facility. Caustic materials in the former lagoon are sufficient to make water that has come into contact with these materials hazardous for human contact. Groundwater with a high pH and elevated arsenic and chloride levels is migrating from the site to drainage ditches and is discharging directly into the Tittabawassee River.

“The project is an example of the Governor’s commitment to environmental cleanup and economic growth,” said DEQ Director Steven E. Chester. “The cleanup we will be conducting will protect the public health of the community, and will turn a contaminated site into usable real estate.”

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has constructed a fence around the site to prevent access and has removed some contaminated soil from the river and the river bank.

The DEQ will install sheet piling around the perimeter of the site and remove the remaining contaminated soil from the river bank and river to prevent migration of contaminants to the Tittabawassee River. To manage direct contact hazards from surface soil, a soil cap will be placed on contaminated areas throughout the site and on adjoining properties.

Editor’s note: DEQ news releases are available on the department’s Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

Revised April 14, 2005 by Pat Watson