Wash King Laundry

⚠ Superfund · Construction complete

To implement the OU-2 in-situ thermal remediation, EPA and Michigan EGLE are taking steps to develop the remedial design, which is the development of engineering drawings and specifications for a site cleanup. Pre-design soil sampling is planned at each source area of the site in the summer or fall of 2022.

Location

CityPleasant Plains Twp
CountyLake County
StateMichigan
Coordinates43.85320, -85.85300

Contaminants of concern

Contaminated media

Cleanup timeline

  1. Initial Assessment Completed — 08/01/1982
  2. Proposed to the National Priorities List — 12/30/1982
  3. Finalized on the National Priorities List — 09/08/1983
  4. Remedial Investigation Started — 09/10/1987
  5. Final Remedy Selected — 03/31/1993
  6. Remedial Action Started — 09/28/1998
  7. Final Remedial Action Started — Estimated Aug - Oct 2028
  8. Construction Completed — 03/30/2001
  9. Deleted from National Priorities List — Not Yet Achieved
  10. Most Recent Five-Year Review — 09/29/2021

EPA references

Understanding this Superfund site

Wash King Laundry is a federal Superfund site in Michigan. The Superfund program, created by Congress in 1980, addresses sites where hazardous substances have been released or threaten release into the environment. EPA scores potential sites using the Hazard Ranking System; those that score high enough are placed on the National Priorities List.

Current status: Construction complete. Physical construction of the cleanup remedy is complete, though long-term monitoring and institutional controls typically continue for years or decades. Groundwater treatment systems, for example, often run long after surface cleanup finishes.

EPA has identified 10 contaminants of concern at this site, including 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane, 1,1-dichloroethene, alpha-chlordane. Contamination has been detected in groundwater, sludge, sediment, soil.

If you live near this site and have health concerns, your state health department can provide site-specific guidance. EPA maintains a community involvement program for most NPL sites, and site documents — including the Record of Decision, five-year reviews, and public health assessments — are typically available through EPA's Superfund site profile.