News Release
11/06/96
Washtenaw County Toxic Waste Site Evaluated
Sediment in the lagoon, called the Willow Run Sludge Lagoon, is heavily contaminated with toxic chemicals, particularly polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The lagoon is fenced, and the PCB-contaminated sludges are covered with subsequently deposited sediments which are thought to be less contaminated. However, there is no data available on whether the surface material is contaminated.
Under direction of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), several of the companies involved in the site have begun a clean-up program for the lagoon and nearby Willow Run Creek. The companies will remove the contaminated sludge from the lagoon and sediments from two ponds along Willow Run Creek. They will dispose of the contaminated material in a newly-constructed landfill.
The Willow Run Sludge Lagoon site was proposed for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Superfund National Priorities List (NPL), but U.S. EPA evaluations determined that the site did not meet the criteria for placement on the NPL. The companies involved with the site have agreed to continue the clean-up under MDEQ supervision.
The Willow Run Sludge Lagoon was constructed to serve a wastewater treatment plant at the Ford Motor Co. aircraft plant at Willow Run Airport during World War II. The company dammed a natural ravine to form a settling pond for discharges from the wastewater treatment plant. Overflow from the lagoon flowed through an open Ypsilanti Township drain into Willow Run Creek. Other industries in the area also used the wastewater treatment plant. Documented discharge of industrial wastewater to the lagoon ended in 1964. The lagoon now contains 15 feet of sludge, covered by two feet of more recent sediments.
There is no indication that the lagoon affects groundwater in the area. However, there is chemical contamination in the groundwater at the site that has been attributed to a nearby closed landfill. There is no known use of groundwater in the affected area. Water and sediment in Willow Run Creek are extensively contaminated with PCBs from the various industrial operations in the creek's watershed. Although the lagoon is on Willow Run Airport property, signs of recreational activity have been seen near the lagoon and Willow Run Creek.
MDCH welcomes further public comment on the assessment and will accept any new information regarding the site for consideration in future assessments of the site. Copies of the Public Health Assessment are available for review at the Ypsilanti District Library, the Van Buren Township Hall, and the Washtenaw County Health Department offices. Information and comments should be addressed to the Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Health Risk Assessment, 3423 North Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., P.O. Box 30195, Lansing, Michigan 48909. People may also call the toll-free telephone number, 1-800-MI-TOXIC.
This assessment is a revision of the draft Public Health Assessment for the site that the MDCH released for public comment on January 31, 1996. The Public Health Assessment on the Willow Run Sludge Lagoon site was conducted by the MDCH under a cooperative agreement with the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) in Atlanta, Georgia.
For more information, call John L. Hesse or Brendan Boyle at the MDCH Division of Health Risk Assessment, (517) 335-8350 or at the toll-free number above.