Wedzeb Enterprises, Inc. was a three-quarter acre property in Lebanon, Indiana where used electrical equipment containing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) was bought, stored, and prepared for resale. A warehouse fire in 1981 caused electrical capacitors to explode, releasing PCB-contaminated water into sanitary sewer lines and onto the ground. The site was added to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) in 1983 and divided into two operable units: a sitewide unit and a sewer cleaning unit.
The contaminants of concern are all located in the sewer cleaning operable unit. They include 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) toxicity equivalents in soil, chlorinated dioxins and furans in groundwater, sediment, and soil, and PCBs in buildings, structures, and sediment.
Cleanup work unfolded in stages. In 1985, crews installed fencing and a windbreak to limit dust migration. In 1987, EPA removed contaminated surface soils and debris from around the eastern warehouse, replaced them with clean fill, and shipped over 250 drums and a three-pound capacitor off site for incineration. For the sewer cleaning operable unit, EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) on June 30, 1989, selecting no further action, dredging, and off-site disposal as the cleanup approach. That work ran from February 1989 through September 1990 and involved hydraulic jet cleaning of sewer lines, vacuum pumping, pipe inspection, and removal of contaminated sediment. Construction was completed on September 26, 1990, and the site was deleted from the NPL on September 10, 1991.
The site has since reached full protective status. Human exposure is under control, physical construction is complete across the entire site, and all cleanup goals for current and reasonably anticipated future land uses have been achieved. The site is classified as not a groundwater site. By September 21, 2007, it achieved sitewide ready for anticipated reuse status. As of December 2024, one on-site business was operating at the property.
Community members or anyone with questions about the site can contact EPA's Remedial Project Manager. The site's administrative record contains 151 documents, available through EPA's Superfund records system for those who want to review the full cleanup history.
