EPA continues to assess potential impacts to human health and the environment resulting from contamination at and surrounding the Grenada Manufacturing, LLC facility (Facility, commonly known as Grenada Stamping and currently operated by Ice Industries).

Air samples were collected by the Facility’s contractor in October 2016 and in January, March and from May - October in 2017. Results show elevated levels of trichloroethene (TCE) in the Facility’s indoor air and in the air beneath the concrete floor. 

With the concurrence of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), EPA directed Ice Industries to notify workers of the elevated TCE concentrations and implement immediate actions at the Facility to reduce worker exposure. 

On December 29, 2017, a treatment system intended to reduce elevated levels of trichloroethene (TCE) inside the manufacturing building at the Facility was restarted under an EPA removal action. Removal actions are short-term responses under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) intended to protect people from risks or potential risks associated with contaminated sites. The treatment system will operate with EPA oversight and monitoring.   

TCE contamination is present beneath the Facility as a result of spills from prior operations. Sampling indicates TCE vapors from beneath the concrete floor are rising into the building and there could be a risk to workers. The new treatment system will replace interim measures taken since January 2017 to increase ventilation. These have decreased TCE concentrations within the building. The new treatment system is a more reliable, long-term method to ensure TCE concentrations remain at acceptable levels. 
  
EPA previously directed the Facility to install the treatment system, known as a sub-slab depressurization system. The Facility’s contractor installed and operated the SSDS from August 12 to September 11, 2017, as a pilot study. Air sampling results before and after the pilot showed the treatment system was effective at reducing TCE concentrations inside the building. 

Background

In a letter dated December 30, 2015, EPA requested that the Facility, expand the environmental study in Eastern Heights and undertake additional on-site corrective action work. The Facility responded on January 29, 2016, and expressed willingness to continue to conduct on-site work while declining to conduct further work in the neighborhood.   EPA directed the Facility to:   

• Make improvements to the Permeable Reactive Barrier (PRB) which is used to treat the groundwater. The EPA received the PRB Pilot Study Work Plan in March and approved it in April 2016. Work began in May 2016 and is ongoing.
• Provide treatment alternatives for reducing the concentration of trichloroethene (TCE) in a spill area at the Facility known as Area of Concern A (near a former TCE above-ground storage tank). Two treatment alternatives were submitted in May 2016. EPA will approve the final treatment option based on results from the PRB Pilot Study. 

In a March 30, 2016 email, EPA directed the Facility to perform indoor air sampling in both administrative and manufacturing areas of the building.  EPA approved the final workplan on October 21, 2016, and the Facility's contractor conducted the sampling during the week of October 21, 2016.  EPA oversaw a second round of air sampling inside the Facility during the week of January 16, 2017. 

On April 7, 2016, EPA requested that the Facility conduct additional groundwater sampling at the Facility in order to support future cleanup decisions.

While EPA continued negotiations with the Facility to complete additional work, EPA began conducting its own environmental sampling in the neighborhood.  In April and May 2016, EPA conducted an updated site investigation at the Facility together with sampling at 17 additional homes in the neighborhood.

EPA collected samples on the Facility property, including the plant, the former disposal area and outfall ditch. Samples were also collected in nearby areas, including the area between the Facility and the neighborhood. Air, sediment, surface water and soil were tested in order to supplement existing information. The results will be detailed in the Expanded Site Inspection (ESI) Report and will be used in the ongoing cleanup of the Facility and surrounding areas. Upon completion, the ESI Report will be made available online.

Results of sampling conducted at the Facility are posted as they become available. 

Results of sampling conducted in the Eastern Heights neighborhood are posted as they become available.