127th Street Soil Site
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Site Description
The 127th Street Soil Site consists of the Hegewisch Little League Field located at 12710 South Carondolet Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60633. In 2019, U.S. EPA collected soil samples in the field as part of an investigation into potential manganese soil contamination in a residential area near the Watco Terminal and Port Services facility in Chicago. See Watco Terminal site sampling area (PDF) (1 pp, 1.3MB, About PDF). The Little League Field was separated from the Watco residential soil site because its contamination was found to not be associated with the Watco facility. The Agency refers to the field as the “127th Street Soil Site”.
More information:
EPA portal for Watco Terminal and Port Services
Environmental Issues in Southeast Chicago
Cleanup Completed - September 2020
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency completed a time-critical cleanup in August 2020 at the 127th Street Soil site to protect public health and the environment. The cleanup consisted of digging up and disposing of contaminated soil, backfilling excavated areas to original grade with clean soil, and landscape restoration. About a third of the baseball field’s area (six grids out of a total of 18 that the field was divided into for soil sampling) had action level exceedances above 400 mg/kg lead and/or 68 mg/kg arsenic within the top foot of soil. The action level is referred to as the U.S. EPA Removal Management Level (RML). The federal agency removed approximately 1,187 tons of lead and arsenic-contaminated soil. Contaminated soil was sent to a permitted landfill in Brook, IN. Engineering controls such as dust suppression were used to protect workers and nearby residents. Air monitoring was conducted to determine dust levels during the excavation work.
News Releases:
EPA completes cleanup of Hegewisch Little League Field, 9/16/2020
EPA begins soil cleanup at Hegewisch Little League field on Chicago’s Far South Side, 7/6/2020
More information: EPA Action Memorandum, March 3, 2020 (PDF) (24p, 3.66MB, About PDF)
Site Background
In 2019, U.S. EPA collected soil samples near the Watco Terminal and Port Services facility in Southeast Chicago to analyze them for manganese and other metals to determine whether the metals in soil posed an unacceptable health risk to residents and whether any follow-up action would be required. The targeted sampling area covered roughly between East 126th Place to the north and East 127th and 128th streets to the south, South Torrence and South Muskegon avenues to the west and South Carondolet Avenue to the east. The sampling results show that manganese was not present in soil at concentrations that exceed the U.S. EPA removal management level (RML). U.S. EPA collected soil samples in the Hegewisch Little League baseball field as part of this investigation in 2019.
Documents
Site Contact Information
Heriberto Leon (leon.heriberto@epa.gov)
Community Involvement Coordinator
312-886-6163
Kristina Miller
(miller.kristina@epa.gov)
On-Scene Coordinator
312-353-1057
Contacts for Health Information
The Great Lakes Center for Reproductive and Children’s Environmental Health serves as an information resource for health care professionals and the public on children's environmental health issues.
(312) 864-5526
Toll Free: (866) 967-7337
Email: ChildrensEnviro@uic.edu
Environmental Toxicology Program Manager
Brian T Koch, MS
brian.koch@illinois.gov
Illinois Department of Public Health
217-785-3176
Safety Tips
Here are some steps you can take to protect you and your
family from metals like manganese and lead detected in
the soil:
- Cover any bare dirt with wood chips.
- Wash children’s hands after they have been playing outside.
- Remove shoes before walking into the home.
- Wear gloves when working in the yard.
- Damp mop floors and damp dust counters and furniture regularly.
- Wash children’s toys and babies’ pacifier regularly.
- Use a raised bed garden or pots and bring soil in from a reputable source if you’re growing edible vegetables.