EPA orders cleanup of new PCB contamination found at Fields Brook Superfund Site

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has directed Millennium Inorganic Chemicals, Ashtabula, Ohio, to address newly discovered PCB contamination in Fields Brook, which flows into northeast Ohio’s Ashtabula River, and eventually Lake Erie.

Fields Brook is on the Superfund National Priorities List. During 1999 - 2001, cleanup activities were conducted across nearly four miles of the brook and at six nearby industrial sites. The new contamination, a pool of heat transfer fluid containing PCBs, was discovered in September during ongoing environmental monitoring.

While plans are being finalized to investigate this newly identified contamination, the Fields Brook channel has been rerouted around the problem area. The work will be performed under the terms of a unilateral administrative order issued to Millennium. A Detroit-based EPA Superfund emergency response team will monitor the work of Millennium’s contractors.

PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) are a group of toxic chemicals that were widely used as coolants, insulators and lubricants. PCBs are of concern because they concentrate in the food chain resulting in health hazards to people, fish and wildlife. Congress banned the manufacture of new PCBs in 1976 and PCBs still in use are strictly regulated.