Du-Wel Metals, Hartford, Van Buren County

Van Buren County, Hartford, Du-Wel Metals

Updated: September 13, 2019

Du-Wel Metals Residential Well Sampling PFOA+PFOS Concentration MapBackground

The former Du-Wel Metals Products (Du-Wel) site, located at 520 Heywood Street, operated a manufacturing facility on a 7.9-acre property from 1957 until 2002. Operations included electroplating, buffing and polishing of aluminum and zinc die casts, and then limited machining and warehousing before it closed in 2002. The building was then demolished and removed. From 1987 to 2002, Du-Wel conducted soil and groundwater investigations and soil corrective actions with the oversight of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). From 2002 to present, EGLE has been conducting investigation and remediation activities for contaminants other than PFAS compounds, such as chlorinated solvents, at the site.

Recent Accomplishments

  • On August 21, 2019, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm, EGLE hosted a Public Meeting at the Hartford High School Auditorium located at 115 School Street in Hartford.

Next Steps

  • The upcoming investigation activities will be focused on the delineation of the contaminated groundwater, both on the former Du-Wel property as well as off-site through the installation of new monitoring wells.
  • The new monitoring wells will be tested for PFAS as well as previously identified contaminants.
  • The additional investigation activities will help EGLE determine the need for expanded residential drinking water well testing.

Residential Well Testing/Alternate Water Information

  • EGLE has sampled all municipal water supplies for PFAS. The municipal supply results were Non-Detect for all PFAS. The Hartford Public School system uses municipal water. View the results for the city of Hartford.
  • Residential well testing began on May 10, 2019, for the residential wells located in the study area.  If you have a drinking water well located in the study area that has not been tested, please contact EGLE to have your well tested.

Upcoming Community Engagement

  • On September 15, 2019, at 3:00 pm, EGLE will host a Public Meeting at the Iglesia Jesus Es El Camino located at 62589 Red Arrow Highway in Hartford.  The content will be presented in Spanish.

 

Sampling: PFOS and PFOA Only

Type of Sample

Date Sampled

# of Samples

# of Results Received

# of Non-detects

# Between Non-detect and standard*

# > Standard

Groundwater

 Apr 9, 2019 19 19 2 4 13
Residential Wells May 10 - 31, 2019 82 82 36 35 11

Cumulative

   101 101 38 39 24

*Groundwater results are compared to EGLE Part 201 Criteria of 70 ppt PFOS+PFOA.
*Residential well results are compared to the USEPA Lifetime Health Advisory Level of 70 ppt PFOS+PFOA.

Sampling notes

  • Other PFAS analytes were detected in samples. There are no federal or state standards for these analytes.

Du-Wel Metals Historical Timeline

The former Du-Wel Metals Products (Du-Wel) operated a manufacturing facility on the property from 1957 until 2002, which included electroplating from approximately 1957 to 1986, during which wastewater was discharged to settling lagoons and a surface impoundment.  It conducted buffing and polishing of aluminum and zinc die casts between 1987 and 1992.  It then used the property for limited machining and warehousing between 1992 and 2001. During 2002, the operation closed, and the manufacturing building was demolished and removed.

From 1987 through 2002, Du-Wel conducted soil and groundwater investigations and soil corrective actions at the site with the oversight of Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), Waste and Hazardous Materials Division under the United States Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Some contaminated soil and plating wastes from several hot spots and lagoons were excavated in 1991 and 1992. By November 2002, a Voluntary Corrective Action Agreement under RCRA was signed and became effective. Under this agreement, Du-Wel completed an investigation and submitted a report; however, the full degree and extent of the groundwater contamination was not determined.

In 2003, Iverness Metal Castings Group, the parent company of Du-Wel, was acquired by Atchinson Casting Corporation, which later filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.  No work has been conducted at the property by the owner since 2003.  The property has since tax-reverted to Van Buren County.

The Du-Wel Metal Products facility includes much of the city of Hartford, in an area with residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural land uses. A tributary to the Paw Paw River is immediately to the west of the site.  The city of Hartford has a municipal water supply that serves a limited number of residents.

  • On April 9, 2019, EGLE expanded its ongoing investigation into groundwater contamination at the former Du-Wel Metals site to include PFAS. EGLE collected 19 samples from groundwater monitoring wells on-site due to historical plating operations at the site.
  • On May 7, 2019, EGLE received the results from the groundwater sampling. The highest result on the property was 8,713 ppt PFOS+PFOA, and 8,808 ppt Total Tested PFAS.
  • Residential well sampling began on May 10, 2019; 82 wells had been sampled as of June 12, 2019.
  • On May 15, 2019,  6:00 pm – 8:00 pm, EGLE hosted a Public Meeting at the Hartford Federated/Bible Church located at 65418 Red Arrow Highway in Hartford. MDHHS was in attendance and also gave a presentation.
  • On August 21, 2019, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm, EGLE hosted a Public Meeting at the Hartford High School Auditorium located at 115 School Street in Hartford.