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Fact Sheet - West Chicago, IL
Former W.R. Grace & Company Site West Chicago, Illinois
Site Background
From 1974 to the early 1990's, the former W.R. Grace & Company
facility at 603 Fenton Lane in West Chicago, Illinois, processed
vermiculite mined in Libby, Montana. This vermiculite was contaminated
with asbestos.
The facility exfoliated ("popped" or expanded) vermiculite,
which could then be used to manufacture other products. The West
Chicago plant processed over 273,000 tons of vermiculite.
W.R. Grace closed the facility in 1996 and sold the 6.4-acre site
to Royal Corinthian in 1998. Royal Corinthian manufactures marble
columns and rails inside the former processing building.
Land use immediately surrounding the site is primarily commercial
and light industrial. Currently, the nearest residential area is
approximately one-half mile east of the site. According to the U.S.
Census, over 3,000 people were living within one mile of the site
in 1990, which is around the time the plant stopped exfoliating
Libby vermiculite.
The ground around the building is paved, but much of the rest of
site is undeveloped. Recent EPA sampling results indicated a trace
amount of residual Libby asbestos in the soil. Samples collected
by W.R. Grace in 1996 showed that Libby asbestos levels in the air
inside the building were well below levels that would be a health
concern. Some information about the air sample results is missing
and should be obtained, if possible, to confirm this conclusion.
No vermiculite or vermiculite waste stockpiles are present at the
site.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Former Workers
- Conclusion: Former workers at the W.R. Grace plant were exposed
to hazardous levels of asbestos. People who lived with former
workers were probably also exposed to hazardous levels from fibers
carried home on workers' hair and clothing.
- Recommendation: Identify former W.R. Grace workers and their
household contacts (people who lived with them) to evaluate potential
health effects.
Current Workers
- Conclusion: Under current conditions, and assuming only occasional
contact with soil that contains Libby asbestos, onsite exposure
of workers to contaminated soils does not appear to pose a public
health hazard. Based on historical air sample results, the facility
appeared to have been cleaned, so the levels of asbestos in air
do not appear to pose a public health hazard.
- Recommendation: Provide independent confirmation that current
workers inside the building are not being exposed to hazardous
levels of Libby asbestos.
Past Community
- Conclusion: Currently not enough data are available to determine
whether people who lived near the plant were exposed to hazardous
levels of Libby asbestos.
- Recommendation: Review new information that becomes available
to determine appropriate actions to protect public health.
Present Community
- Conclusion: Community exposure to Libby asbestos from plant
emissions or from onsite asbestos-contaminated materials poses
no public health hazard. Not enough information is available,
however, to determine whether individuals are being exposed to
Libby asbestos through direct contact with waste that may have
been used in the community. In other communities, waste vermiculite
has been used for a variety of purposes, such as fill, driveway
surfacing, or soil amendments.
- Recommendation: Review new information that becomes available
to determine appropriate actions to protect public health.
Consumer Products
Where can I find more information?
The public health consultation for
the West Chicago site is available on the Internet at www.atsdr.cdc.gov/naer/westchicagoil/hc.html.
The document also may be reviewed in person at the following
locations:
West Chicago Public Library
118 W. Washington St., (630) 231-1552
Winfield Public Library
OS 291 Winfield Rd., (630) 653-7599
Public input and questions are encouraged. ATSDR responses
will be provided in a separate document available to the public
and not as an additional release of this site-specific health
consultation. Comments on the health consultation must be
submitted in writing by October 31, 2003. Mail comments to:
Chief, Program Evaluation, Records and Information Services
Branch, ATSDR
1600 Clifton Rd., NE (MS E-60)
Atlanta, GA 30333
The names of those who submit comments will not be printed
in a public document. They are, however, subject to release
through requests made under the U.S. Freedom of Information
Act.
For more information, please call the Ilinois Department
of Public Health at 217-782-5830 and ask to speak with Environmental
Health Specialists Jennifer Davis or Ken Runkle. Callers should
refer to the former W.R. Grace West Chicago site.
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The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
is a federal public health agency of the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services. ATSDR was created by the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA, also
called the Superfund law). This law established ATSDR as the federal
health agency to deal with environmental health issues at hazardous
waste sites. The agency's mission is to prevent exposure and adverse
health effects from a variety of hazardous substance sources.
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