EPA Highlights Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Funding for Cleanup of Legacy Contamination in Ottawa, Illinois
Publilshed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
CHICAGO (April 6, 2023) – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was joined by elected officials to highlight $90 million to clean up the remaining area contaminated with radium as part of the Ottawa Radiation Areas site in Ottawa, Illinois. The funding is part of approximately $1 billion under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to start new cleanup projects at 22 Superfund sites and expedite over 100 other ongoing cleanups across the country.
EPA joined Rep. Lauren Underwood and Ottawa Finance Commissioner Wayne Eichelkraut in Ottawa to celebrate the investment.
“Thanks to the unprecedented funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, completing cleanup of this site will permit the city of Ottawa to reclaim valuable land and transform it into a community asset for generations to come,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore. “The funding enables EPA to accelerate the pace of Superfund cleanups across the country –and offers more communities, like Ottawa, new opportunities to thrive.”
“As a nurse, I know having a safe environment for families to live, work, and grow is essential to public health,” said Rep. Lauren Underwood. “Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which I am proud to have helped pass, $90 million is coming home to clean up Ottawa’s last remaining radium sites and protect families from legacy pollution. This project and so many others like it show the real difference that the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is making in communities in Illinois and across the country, and I’m pleased to deliver this important funding to ensure Ottawa remains a place where current and future residents can call home.”
“For the past 35 years, U.S. EPA and IEMA have been working together to clean up radium sites in Ottawa,” said Ottawa Finance Commissioner Wayne Eichelkraut. “We are very thankful for their help and the help of our legislators to fund this important work to protect her citizens now, and into the future. When the cleanup here at NPL-8 is finished, the last chapter in the Ottawa Radium story will be complete and the book can be closed.”
“Over the last century, Ottawa has been burdened with contamination sites across the community,” said Sen. Dick Durbin. “Thanks to funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, they can now make much-needed progress on their clean-up efforts that will prioritize the health and safety of their current and future residents.”
“I’m proud to see the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is continuing to support critical projects throughout Illinois, and I’m pleased this Superfund site in Ottawa will benefit,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth. “Eliminating contaminated sites is an important part of protecting the health of children and families, and it is also a necessary part of helping spur development, job creation and economic growth for affected communities. I’ll keep working to help ensure that all Illinoisans can breathe clean air and live in a safe environment without fear of toxins and pollution.”
EPA will use the BIL funding to start a new project to complete cleanup at the last contaminated area of the Ottawa Radiation Areas Superfund site – the landfill on NPL-8. The former landfill sits on 17 acres along state Route 71, about one mile east of the Ottawa city limits. Radioactive contaminated soils containing radium-226 will be excavated from the former landfill and transported off-site for disposal at a licensed facility. Upon completion of the excavation activities, the area will be backfilled and regraded to restore the site. Cleanup activities are anticipated to begin in 2024.
The Ottawa Radiation Areas site consists of 16 areas contaminated by radioactive materials. These contaminated areas are scattered throughout the city of Ottawa as well as locations outside the city. EPA added the areas to the Superfund program’s National Priorities List because they are contaminated by the same wastes, involve the same potentially responsible parties and require similar cleanups. The contamination originated from businesses that used radium-based paint to produce luminous dials for clocks and watches from 1918 to 1937. Following actions to protect human health and the environment in the short term, EPA developed long-term remedies for the site. To date, EPA has completed cleanup at 15 of the 16 contaminated areas.
More information on the Ottawa Radiation Areas site
Highlights from the first year of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding at Superfund sites
Read the full article at: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-highlights-bipartisan-infrastructure-law-funding-cleanup-legacy-contamination
