Nearly five years after toxic chemicals were found moving toward a middle school, the company causing the contamination has a plan to clean it up.

Wayne Metal Protection, 1511 Wabash Ave., reported polluting the soil and groundwater to Indiana’s voluntary cleanup program in the fall of 2004, but consistently missed state deadlines for investigating the extent of the contamination and forming a cleanup plan. The metal-plating company sits a few hundred feet away – and uphill – from Memorial Park Middle School, and the plume of contamination extends toward the school.

The cleanup plan, which was first due in February 2006, was submitted to IDEM on Tuesday. The deadline for submittal was Wednesday.

Both company and state officials say the contamination has not reached the school property and there is currently no risk of coming in contact with the toxins because they are underground. The company appears to be out of business, though the facility has been rented at times to a nearby metal coatings firm.

"The information collected to date does not indicate the presence of any exposure or risk associated with the subsurface plume from the former Wayne Metal Protection facility," Indiana Department of Environmental Management spokeswoman Amy Hartsock said in a written statement.

Decades of metal coating at the site have left the soil and groundwater contaminated with chlorinated solvents, which move easily in groundwater and then evaporate as a gas up through the soil.

The chemicals Wayne Metal Protection found in the soil and groundwater – tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene – have been linked to numerous health problems including spontaneous abortions, menstrual disorders, altered sperm structure and reduced fertility, miscarriages and developmental problems. They have also been connected to kidney and liver problems, can affect the nervous and immune systems and have been linked to kidney, liver and cervical cancer, according to the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

In addition, the company later reported it had found cyanide, arsenic, lead and chromium at the site, as well as vinyl chloride, which is so dangerous the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says there is no safe level of exposure.

Though the firm has submitted a plan, it will still need technical review by IDEM and a public comment period, a process that could take several more months.

The Journal Gazette left six messages, beginning June 2, requesting comment from Wayne Metal Protection, but received no response.

‘A good plan’

After signing a voluntary cleanup agreement with IDEM in August 2005, Wayne Metal Protection had until February 2006 to submit a cleanup plan. That deadline was missed, but the plan was submitted Dec. 31, 2007.

Six months later, the company was kicked out of the voluntary program for again failing to meet deadlines, this time on revising the plan and meeting several IDEM-identified deficiencies.

IDEM project manager Corey Webb, who is overseeing the Wayne Metal Protection site, said the firm’s plan was basically sound and just needed a few fixes. Because of that, he expects no major problems in the revised plan submitted Tuesday.

The plan had been due June 1, but was pushed back 30 days because the company needed to negotiate with a neighboring property owner for access to test for contamination.

"(The cleanup plan) really didn’t have too many issues. It was a good plan and it seemed reasonable, so I don’t expect any difficult technical issues," Webb said.

Even when a plan is in place, however, it will take years before the contamination is gone. Getting it out of the soil and groundwater will require a system to pump toxic vapors and polluted water out of the ground for disposal.

"It’s very expensive … a plume like this, it’s very complicated to clean up," Webb said. "We’re talking about years."

Though monitoring wells show the chemical plume has not reached school property, Fort Wayne Community Schools has spent almost $24,000 on air and water testing to ensure the nearby middle school is safe, according to FWCS documents. Those tests have not shown any problems.

In addition, the district spent $3,238 to move an air intake after a teacher complained of an odor, FWCS spokeswoman Krista J. Stockman said. About 600 students in grades six, seven and eight attend Memorial Park.

"There is no risk to the students at the school," Webb said.

Officials also say there is no risk to neighbors, but aside from a legal ad printed in The Journal Gazette, those neighbors will not receive any official notice of the contamination. That legal ad will announce the availability of the cleanup plan – after IDEM accepts it – and the start of a 30-day comment period.

Under Indiana’s cleanup programs – both voluntary and forced – the only public notice required is to the county health department, the mayor and a legal ad in the local newspaper.

IDEM officials say neighbors – even those living next door to the polluted site – are not directly affected because the pollution is not under their property. It is about 100 feet from the area of the plume to the nearest house on Dubois Street.

"That’s pretty far away from that house," Webb said. "There’s no risk to anyone there."

There is also no mechanism to force the company to pay for the schools’ costs except if the district tried to sue the firm in civil court.

Hartsock said in her written statement that if any risk is found, IDEM will act quickly.

"As the investigation and cleanup proceeds, the contamination targeted for cleanup is being closely monitored, and if at any point in the future a potential for risk or exposure is discovered, IDEM would of course take all steps necessary to ensure the protection of human health and the environment," she wrote.

IDEM officials could not say how soon after plan approval cleanup work would begin.

Fines still unsettled

In October 2007, IDEM notified Wayne Metal Protection that an inspection had found hundreds of gallons of hydrochloric acid stored at the site in violation of federal hazardous waste laws.

Some was in containers that were not sealed, not labeled or leaking, and inspectors also found there was no way for workers to summon help in an emergency, there was no contingency plan in case of a spill, workers had not been properly trained, hydrochloric acid that spilled was not cleaned up within 24 hours as required and the plant’s wastewater system released wastewater onto a dirt floor.

At the time, IDEM officials said the discovery was a serious violation of federal hazardous waste laws. Under state rules, if the issue is not resolved in 60 days after the notice of violation, IDEM can fine the firm $25,000 per day.

"There were violations of eight significant areas of (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) regulations," Hartsock said at the time. "But another issue was the potential for serious consequences relating to the management of the facility and the nature of the violations."

Today, the company’s reaction to the violations is still being negotiated, and IDEM’s stance has changed dramatically.

The violations found were "mostly housekeeping issues," Webb said, and the fixes IDEM demanded two years ago will now be part of the company’s cleanup plan.

On July 15, 2008, IDEM notified the company that it had failed to file a biennial hazardous waste report and to pay its $1,565 annual fee. That violation is also still being negotiated, Hartsock said.

"We always emphasize with our operators that any time they suspect a spill or have a problem, that acting on it sooner rather than later is the best way to address it from a public health standpoint, an environmental standpoint and from a cost standpoint," she said. "We constantly try to convey to businesses out there that the best way is to prevent it before it ever happens."

Ron Shawgo of The Journal Gazette contributed to this story.

dstockman@jg.net