LANSING, Mich. — The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a plan to mitigate the impact of cancer-causing chemicals at the Adams Plating Site in Lansing Township.
“It was a former plating facility and in 2010 there was a fire there,” said Jessie Ferris, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy project manager for the site.
Now, only thing left of the Adam’s plating site on North Rosemary Street is vacant land, no trespassing signs and a fence.
The property has been on the federal government's priority list for hazardous waste cleanup since 1989. After the fire, the Environmental Protection Agency removed hazardous substances stored at the site along with contaminated soil.
“So EPA started an investigation, which led us to where we are today,” Ferris said.
That investigation led to the proposal, a plan to mitigate vapor intrusion at the site. Experts said vapor intrusion typically occurs when chemical vapors migrate from contaminated ground water through the soil into the basements of foundations of buildings.
“So right now, the proposed plan that is out there, says there are things called insertions controls that will be implemented at the Adams Plating property itself,” Ferris said. “So if someone wants to come and put a structure on that property, they would have to put in a system to eliminate the vapor intrusion risks, so we call them mitigation systems.”
The EPA said vapor intrusion can have a significant human health risk.
“There’s a home in the area that’s identified in the proposed plan that had elevated vapor intrusion risks and so there will be a mitigation system installed inside that home as well,” Ferris said.
EPA said the estimated cost to fix the vapor intrusions is around $170,000.
