Lindsay Light Projects
- Future DuSable Park
- Streeterville Cooperative Agreement
- 545 N. McClurg Court
- 455 North Park Drive
- Project at 465 N. Park Drive
- 515 N. Peshtigo Court (aka 500 N. Lake Shore Drive)
- Project at 224-228 E. Ontario St. (OU22)
- 510 N. Peshtigo Court (aka Operating Unit 10)
- Navy Pier CTA Electric Bus Charging Station
Future DuSable Park
The small parcel of land proposed to become DuSable Park is a 3.5-acre peninsula just east of Lake Shore Drive between the Chicago River and the Ogden Slip. The parcel is owned by the Chicago Park District. When it is developed, the park is expected to be dedicated to Chicago's first non-Native-American settler, Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable. He was a French and African American entrepreneur from the island of Haiti who lived and operated a trading post at the mouth of the Chicago River from 1779 to about 1800.
Under a June 2017 cooperative agreement, EPA is providing $6.8 million to the Chicago Park District to continue an ongoing cleanup. In 2012, the Chicago Park District received about $250,000 through a previous cooperative agreement to clean up contaminated areas on the DuSable Park site. Contractors for the park district, with EPA oversight, removed more than 115 cubic yards of thorium-contaminated soil. Funding for the cleanup also comes from a 2014 fraud settlement in which Kerr-McGee Corp. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. agreed to pay for environmental cleanups at former Kerr-McGee sites across the country. This funding also paid for the removal of nearly 1,000 additional cubic yards of thorium-contaminated soil.
A small part of the elevated portion of the Navy Pier Flyover will pass over DuSable Park and be supported by several columns that will be placed in the park near Lake Shore Drive.
- Dusable Park Construction photo gallery, January 2020
- Lindsay Light Cooperative Agreement with Chicago Park District for DuSable Park, May 2017
- Lindsay Light Cooperative Agreement With Chicago Park District for DuSable Park, July 2011
- Chicago Park District DuSable Park Web Page Exit
- Lindsay Light II Site: Aerial Photo 2 - February 2010
- DuSable Park Site - Aerial Photo 2008
Streeterville Cooperative Agreement
The city of Chicago is cleaning up high levels of thorium contamination in the “Streeterville Thorium Investigation Area.” The area is bounded on the south by Randolph Street, on the west by Michigan Avenue, on the east by Lake Michigan and on the south by Erie Street. Through a 2012 legal agreement, EPA is providing $2.5 million to help fund the cleanup of some city sidewalks, streets, and parkways. The project may last through Aug. 31, 2025, subject to potential grant extensions.
- Before You Dig: Radioactive Thorium and Construction Activities in the Streeterville Area - August 2017
- Lindsay Light Streeterville Thorium Monitoring Area Map 2014
- Lindsay Light Assistance Amendment, November 2012
- Lindsay Light Cooperative Agreement, September 2012
- U.S. EPA - Mobile Scanner Van for Use the Lindsay Light II/RV3 North Columbus Drive Site - June 2000
Project at 545 N. McClurg Court
This project has been completed.
Prior testing determined that there was thorium-contaminated soil in some subsurface areas of the site. The project’s owner signed a legal agreement with the EPA to find and remove the thorium-contaminated soil. EPA oversaw that work. Contractors used specialized radiation-detecting instruments to scan the soil during excavation. As thorium-contaminated material was discovered, it was immediately secured, covered and packaged for removal to a licensed radioactive waste disposal facility.
Lindsay Light Administrative Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent for Removal Action, June 2014
Project at 455 North Park Drive
This project has been completed.
Prior testing determined that there was thorium-contaminated soil in some subsurface areas of the site. The project’s owner signed a legal agreement with EPA to find and remove the thorium-contaminated soil. EPA oversaw that work. Contractors used specialized radiation-detecting instruments to scan the soil during excavation. As 355 cubic yards of thorium-contaminated material was discovered, it was immediately secured, covered and packaged for removal to a licensed radioactive waste disposal facility.
Project at 465 N. Park Drive
This project has been completed.
In 2008, an administrative settlement agreement and order on consent were issued for 319 E. Illinois St., aka 465 N. Park Drive. During 2012 and 2013, about 12 cubic yards of thorium-contaminated soil was removed. The site was also covered with gravel and used as a staging area during the cleanup of the adjacent property at 455 N. Park Drive. In 2016, a high-rise residential building was erected here.
Administrative Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent, April 25, 2008
Project at 515 N. Peshtigo Court (aka 500 N. Lake Shore Drive)
This project has been completed.
More than 160 yards of subsurface thorium-contaminated material was secured, covered and packaged for removal to a licensed radioactive waste disposal facility. A 45-floor residential tower was built here after the former three-story masonry structures were demolished.
Project at 224-228 E. Ontario St. (OU22)
This project has been completed.
Thorium testing was done here because the location of a new 20-story hotel is within the Streeterville Thorium Monitoring Area. The project’s owner signed a legal agreement with EPA to remove thorium-contaminated soil, if any was found. Contractors for the project’s owner used specialized radiation-detecting instruments to scan the soil during excavation. EPA oversaw that work; however, no thorium was detected.
Project at 510 N. Peshtigo Court (OU10) (aka 451 E. Grand Ave., aka 400 E. Illinois)
This project has been completed.
Before a 67-story residential high-rise building was constructed here, prior testing found thorium-contaminated soil nearby. The developer had signed a legal agreement with EPA to find and remove the tainted soil, if encountered. EPA oversaw that work. Contractors are used specialized radiation-detecting instruments to scan the soil during excavation. As 8 cubic yards of thorium-contaminated material was discovered, it was immediately secured, covered and packaged for removal to a licensed radioactive waste disposal facility.
Navy Pier CTA Electric Bus Charging Station
The Chicago Transit Authority is constructing an electric bus charging station at Navy PierExit. The units will allow charging within 5 to 10 minutes allowing buses to return to service quickly.
This project is located within the “Lindsay Light Streeterville Thorium Monitoring Area” near Navy Pier at the intersection of East Grand Avenue and Park Drive. EPA is providing technical oversight to CTA and its contractors to ensure that monitoring for thorium-contaminated soil is conducted during construction activities. And, if contamination is found, that it is removed and disposed of properly. To date, approximately 18 cubic yards of thorium-contaminated soil have been removed.
EPA will continue to oversee the work through the summer. Construction of the charging station is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2020.
Excavation and soil testing.
