EPA begins new cleanup in Ottawa, Ill.; meeting March 25, 7 p.m.

Release date: 03/16/2009

Contact Information: Mick Hans, 312-353-5050, hans.mick@epa.gov Cheryl Allen, 312-353-6196, allen.cheryl@epa.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 09-OPA037

(Chicago, Ill. - March 16, 2009) In late April, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 will begin a $1.6 million Superfund project to remove contamination from a city parking lot in Ottawa, Ill. Construction equipment and workers in protective clothing will be visible near the intersection of Jefferson and Clinton Streets. The work is expected to wrap up by July.

A meeting to update residents and nearby businesses is set for 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 25, at the City Council Chambers, 301 W. Madison.

The parking lot is one of 16 areas in and around Ottawa with radium-226 waste that probably came from two long-closed companies that used radium-sulfate paint in making glow-in-the-dark watch dials and faces.

The excavated material will be sent to an EPA-approved landfill.

Persons who have questions or need special accommodations for the meeting should contact by March 23 EPA Community Involvement Coordinator Cheryl Allen, 800-621-8431, Ext. 36196, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., weekdays. More information is at: http://www.epa.gov/region5/sites/ottawa/ .