Liquid Disposal, Inc. is a 7-acre former commercial liquid waste incinerator in Shelby Township, Michigan. It served automobile manufacturers, chemical companies, and other industries. Poor storage practices and spills left soil and groundwater contaminated with 25 chemicals of concern. The site was added to the National Priorities List (NPL) in September 1983, which placed it under EPA's Superfund cleanup program.
The contaminants include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, trichloroethene, and chloroform, as well as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and heavy metals including lead, cadmium, and barium. Most of these chemicals are present in both soil and groundwater across the whole site. The main health risks come from people ingesting or touching contaminated soil or groundwater.
EPA's cleanup targeted PCB contamination using a combination of methods. Workers disposed of debris on-site, solidified and fixed contaminated soil and waste, extracted and treated groundwater, installed monitoring wells, and built a landfill slurry wall and a protective cap over contaminated areas. Physical construction of the remedy finished in September 1997. A 2010 update to the cleanup plan added institutional controls, including zoning restrictions that block residential development and other incompatible land uses.
Human exposure is currently under control and groundwater migration is stabilized, with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. Operation and maintenance activities continue, including monthly hydraulic monitoring, routine inspections of storage tanks, valves, piping, the cap, and the slurry wall, and regular cleaning of extraction well pumps. The most recent five-year review was completed in September 2024 to confirm that the cleanup continues to protect people and the environment. The site remains on the NPL and has not yet been deleted or designated as ready for anticipated reuse, because cleanup goals for current and future land uses have not all been fully achieved or required land-use restrictions are still being put in place.
Community members with questions about site conditions or cleanup activities can contact the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or Remedial Project Manager. Documentation including an administrative record of 153 documents is also available through EPA databases for those who want to dig deeper into the site's history.
