Auto Ion Chemicals, Inc.

Overview

Auto Ion Chemicals, Inc. is a 1.5-acre Superfund site in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was added to the National Priorities List (NPL) in September 1983. Two industrial operations left behind the contamination: coal-burning electrical generation from 1914 to 1956, and chromium plating waste treatment from 1964 to 1973. Those activities polluted site soil, groundwater, and the nearby Kalamazoo River.

EPA identified 21 contaminants of concern across soil and groundwater. Soil contains arsenic, lead, chromium, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) including benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, and chrysene. Groundwater contains a longer list, including arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, cyanide, lead, mercury, nickel, silver, trichloroethene, vinyl chloride, and 1,2-dichloroethane, among others.

Cleanup is organized into three areas: sitewide oversight, soil, and groundwater. Removal actions between 1985 and 1993 disposed of contaminated soil, removed a building, and added fencing. Formal soil remedial work ran from March 1993 through August 1994, with construction finishing in September 1994. That work eliminated direct contact risks and removed the main source of groundwater contamination. A long-term groundwater response action started in March 1997 and is still ongoing. It relies on institutional controls (legal measures that restrict land and water use) and twice-yearly groundwater monitoring. The site reached "ready for anticipated reuse" status in September 2013. Physical construction is complete and all cleanup goals for soil have been met. Human exposure is currently under control across the entire site, and groundwater contamination is stable in its original area.

The 2021 five-year review flagged a potential concern: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and 1,4-dioxane could be present in groundwater given the site's history as a waste treatment facility. Because area residents and businesses use municipal water, and institutional controls prevent groundwater use, these emerging contaminants are not expected to affect the remedy's protectiveness. Potentially responsible parties submitted a quality assurance plan in October 2024 to sample for PFAS, 1,4-dioxane, metals, cyanide, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The next five-year review is estimated between September and November 2026.

For questions, contact the EPA Community Involvement Coordinator or Remedial Project Manager assigned to this site.