The EPA nnounced an agreement with Honeywell International, Inc. and the City of South Bend to clean portions of Lasalle Park and two nearby residential yards at the Beck’s Lake Superfund site. Soil sampling found lead levels in soil exceeding the EPA’s residential soil Removal Management Level of 400 parts per million. RMLs help identify areas, contaminants, and conditions where cleanup may be needed to protect human health and the environment.
EPA will oversee the cleanup taking place this spring on portions of Lasalle Park and two nearby residential properties. At Lasalle Park, cleanup activities will include excavating soil from areas with contamination above the RML, backfilling the areas with clean soil and capping them with one to two feet of additional clean soil. At the two nearby residential properties, sections with contaminated soil above the RML will be excavated to a depth of two feet below ground and backfilled with clean soil. To ensure the safety of the local community and workers during the cleanup, a specific health and safety plan for the project will be followed. Cleanup activities are expected to be completed this fall.
Historical records indicate that the Beck’s Lake Superfund site was used as a dumping ground from the 1930s to the mid-1950s. Asbestos, plating and paint wastes, solvents and oils, and arsenic-contaminated foundry sand may have been disposed of in this area. The site was listed on the National Priorities List in December 2013. The NPL is intended primarily to guide EPA in determining which sites warrant further investigation.