*************************************************************
 United States Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Public Affairs
Region 5
77 West Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604


     This fact sheet will tell you about:
     -    History of the Bloomington PCB-contaminated Sites
     -    Consent Decree
     -    Public Involvement
     -    Permit Applications Update
     -    Future Directions
     -    Where to obtain more information


 HISTORY OF THE PCB
 CONTAMINATED SUPERFUND SITES

 Bloomington, Indiana               February 1994

 
 BACKGROUND
 
 From 1958 to 1977, Westinghouse Electric Corporation
 (Westinghouse) manufactured electrical capacitors containing
 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at their Bloomington,
 Indiana Plant. Off-specification capacitors were discarded
 in local landfills and limestone quarries. In 1976, Congress
 passed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which
 restricted the use of PCBs for most commercial purposes. In
 1977, Westinghouse discontinued the manufacture of
 capacitors containing PCBs in their Bloomington plant.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has
identified eight sites in Monroe and Owen Counties, Indiana
containing a large volume of PCB-contaminated materials (See page
2, PCB Contaminated Super Fund Sites in Monroe and Owen Counties,
Indiana). The eight sites were designated as Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA,
also known as "Superfund") sites. Two (ABB Plant and Fell Iron and
Metal) are being addressed under EPA's removal program and the
other six (Winston Thomas, Anderson Road Landfill, Bennett's Dump,
Lemon Lane Landfill, Neal's Dump, and Neal's Landfill) were
addressed under the remedial program. Four (Bennett's, Lemon Lane, 
Neal's Dump, and Neal's Landfill) of the six remedial
sites scored above 28.5 on the Hazard Ranking System (HRS) and
were therefore designated as National Priorities List (NPL) sites.
Westinghouse, as a Potentially Responsible Party (PRP), is
required to clean up the ABB Plant and Fell Iron and Metal sites
under a CERCLA Administrative Order, while the other six sites are
covered under a consent decree entered in 1985 and subject to the
jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the Southern
District of Indiana. The consent decree parties include EPA, the
State of Indiana, the City of Bloomington, Monroe County and
Westinghouse.

CONSENT DECREE

The consent decree identified six PCB-contaminated sites and
outlined the terms agreed by the above-listed consent decree
parties for the cleanup of these sites. One of the requirements of
the consent decree is that Westinghouse design and construct a
high temperature incinerator fueled by municipal solid waste to
treat the estimated 650,000 cubic yards containing PCB
contaminated material from the six Bloomington sites. Westinghouse
is also responsible for disposal of the resulting incinerator ash.
To meet this requirement, Westinghouse has submitted applications
for construction of an ash landfill in the Washington Township area 
of Bloomington. Both the incinerator and ash landfill are required to
meet all applicable federal, state and local laws.

PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT

After the signing of the consent decree and during some of the
initial removal actions at the sites, the EPA regional office
received numerous letters complaining about the lack of public
involvement in the decision-making process. In January, 1989, a
Public Information Center was established in Bloomington to
provide on-going information to the citizens regarding the
cleanup.

By November, 1989, a Citizens Information Committee (CIC) was
formed to provide an avenue for information sharing and dialogue
between EPA Region 5 and the community. The committee is composed
of private citizens and representatives of local and state
governments, environmental activist and civic groups, Indiana
University, the legal community, medical and health professionals,
and the Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. The committee meets every
six weeks to discuss issues of immediate community concern
regarding the local PCB sites. Committee members are charged with
the responsibility of disseminating information to their members.
The meetings are videotaped for the public and are aired on the
local public access channel.

EPA has held more than 16 public meetings and information forums
as well as published and distributed numerous fact sheets
regarding the Bloomington PCB sites. EPA has also visited
residents adjacent to the PCB CONTAMINATED sites to discuss the
cleanup as it progresses in their neighborhood. EPA has set up and
maintained four information repositories in the county to provide
information on the Bloomington PCB sites to the public. Residents
can go to the local office or to one of the four information
repositories to seek information regarding the sites.

PERMIT APPLICATIONS UPDATE

In July, 1991, Westinghouse submitted permit applications for the
incinerator and ash landfill to the EPA and Indiana Department of
Environmental Management (IDEM). Several major permits must be
obtained covering all aspects of these two facilities. These
include design, operation, emissions, air quality, ground water
monitoring, and environmental impact. (See EPA Information Update:
Westinghouse Permit Application and Review Process, August, 1991
for more information regarding the permitting process.) 
If Westinghouse is to build both the incinerator and the 
ash landfill they must also conduct risk
assessments relative to the operations of both facilities to
evaluate the threat posed to human health and the environment.

Immediately following Westinghouse's submission of the permit
applications, the State of Indiana enacted a 1991 law (IC 137-16.5-9) 
requiring that IDEM conduct a study of alternative PCB
clean-up technologies before permit applications for a hazardous
waste incinerator would be considered. The State of Indiana
enacted another law in 1992 (IC 13-7-8.6-5.3). This law requires
that a person who proposes to construct a hazardous waste disposal
facility, e.g., incinerator, obtain a certificate of environmental
compatibility (CEC) from the state.

In addition, the 1992 law prevented the issuance of a CEC for the
construction or operation of an incinerator used to destroy PCBs,
or that is operated as a hazardous waste facility, unless the
incinerator has been incorporated into an approved solid waste
management plan. Indiana law prevents the issuance of a CEC for a
PCB incinerator unless the study of alternative technologies
(required by the 1991 law) has been completed.

In 1993, the State of Indiana enacted another law (IC 137-8.5-11.3) 
which prevented the state from issuing a permit for the
construction or operation of a hazardous waste facility used for
incineration of PCBs unless:

1 )  the proposed destruction or treatment technology has been 
     used at an equivalent hazardous waste facility; and 
2)   the technology used at an equivalent hazardous waste facility has
     demonstrated a destruction efficiency of 99.9999%; and 
3)   the technology has not released a hazardous substance into
     another solid, liquid, or gaseous substance.

Concerning the study of alternative PCB technologies, the 1993 law
extended the deadline for IDEM to complete the study of
alternative technologies to July, 1995.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

The consent decree contains a provision whereby Westinghouse has
the opportunity to identify an alternative remedy for the consent
decree sites. Westinghouse expressed a willingness to explore
alternative remedies for the consent decree sites. Accordingly,
the consent decree parties have agreed to openly discuss
alternative remedies.
 
During the process to discuss alternative remedies, the consent
decree parties will listen to local residents' concerns, solicit
their views, and provide open lines of communication. If an
alternative is found and can be agreed upon by the consent decree
parties, then Westinghouse may propose an alternative remedy.
Following any proposal from Westinghouse, EPA would evaluate
alternatives in accordance with CERCLA and the

National Contingency Plan (NCP). Both CERCLA and the NCP provide
provision for formal comment.

In addition, the other consent decree parties may evaluate any
proposal according to their respective legal requirements.
Following approval of all the consent decree parties, the court's
approval will be requested. The public will be informed of the
progress and will continue to be involved throughout the cleanup
process.

Source: Scanned from the original EPA Fact Sheet by COPA for the BBS.
*************************************************************