butterworth #2 landfill

1450 BUTTERWORTH ST SW

The Butterworth #2 Landfill site covers 120 acres in the hundred-year flood plain of the Grand River in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The city of Grand Rapids owned and operated the landfill as an open dump from 1950 to 1967. The site was operated as a sanitary landfill from 1967 to 1973 when the state closed it for improper operations. The landfill received municipal, solid, and industrial wastes. The industrial wastes included plating wastes, paint wastes, and organic solvents. Groundwater sampling in 1982 identified volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including benzene and vinyl chloride and heavy metals, iron, manganese, silver, and lead. Soils are contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides, pyrene, and chrysene and heavy metals, including chromium and cadmium. Approximately 1,300 people live within one mile of the site. The closest residence is about 200 yards away.