RIVERVIEW (WWJ) - A "caustic lime material" with an acidity level to cause chemical burns is once again plaguing the site of the former McLouth Steel mill, environmental officials said this week.
According to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), a "corrosive milky liquid" was first noticed sweeping up from the ground around railroad tracks on the northern side of the Riverview property back in January.
The site has a well-documented history of chemical contamination that goes back years and has been through multiple clean-up efforts costing millions of dollars.
Now state regulators said the site's owner, Riverview Trenton Railroad Co. (RTRC) has until Feb. 16 to come up with plan to investigate the latest problem and address it with a long term solution.
EGLE has also instructed RTRR to coordinate with the City of Riverview and Wayne County for access arrangements and sewer dye testing, as necessary.
The milky liquid -- that officials called a caustic lime material -- has a pH balance of 12.6 which is similar to that of household bleach and can lead to chemical burns if it comes into contact with skin.
The EGLE has advised residents to stay away from the area and orange fencing has been set up around the ponding near the railroad crossing a Payne and West Jefferson.
The substance has also been observed seeping into Monguagon (or Huntington) Creek from the shoreline of RTRR’s property.
“It’s likely from fill dirt that was brought in many decades ago,” Jeff Johnston, EGLE spokesperson, told MLive. “There’s a lot of chemical contamination throughout that area...it’s not all the time, but when the water table is high, this material seeps through the ground and lately we’ve seen it pooling on the surface as well."
At this time, the Riverview Trenton Railroad Co. is using sump pumps to lower the water table to keep the pool of material from getting bigger.
The contaminated site is part of a 273-acre property that was split into two sections that encompass the communities of Riverview and Trenton. The Riverview Trenton Railroad Co. keeps a 76-acre northern portion that sits mostly within the city of Riverview while a second 197-acre southern section in Trenton belongs to MSC LLC, a business organization run by the Moroun family who also own the Ambassador Bridge.
The EGLE have their hands full after information about the Downriver contamination site was released one day after they were called to the scene of a chemical spill that saw greenish-blue material spew into Warren's Bear Creek.
The unknown substance was discovered on Wednesday, Feb. 7, after a construction contractor working on replacement of a culvert beneath Mound Road near 11 Mile Road -- as part of the ongoing Innovate Mound project -- noticed a blue-colored substance in the water.
The construction crew then alerted an inspector with the Macomb County Public Works Office.
Investigators were able to trace the spill upstream to a closed industrial building, identified as Fini Finish Custom Plating -- a metal treating operation -- at 24657 Mound Road just south of 10 Mile Road.
Several samples collected from the water and sediment are pending lab results.