1000 AUSABLE RD
The Hedblum Industries (Hedblum) Superfund site is situated on 10 acres within a mixed-use, industrial and residential area in AuSable Township, Iosco County, Michigan. About 13,700 people live in the greater site area. The closest residence is about 350 feet from the site. An industrial park is located less than one mile north. Most of the Oscoda and AuSable Township populations (about 9,500) live within a three-mile radius of the site. From 1958 through 1985, the site was leased to a series of industrial firms that manufactured automobile parts. The Hedblum site first came to the attention of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) Water Quality Division during a routine inspection of the facility in 1972. At that time, Thompson Industries was on the site and was engaged in the assembly of anti-rattling devices for the automotive industry. Cooling and rinse waters were discharged from the plant directly onto the ground. During another site inspection, MDEQ was informed that every two weeks from 1968 to 1972, Thompson had dumped approximately 40 gallons of trichloroethylene (TCE) from a degreasing tank onto the ground. The state estimated that 4,000 gallons of TCE were dumped over this four-year period. Samples from several residential wells indicated that two of them were contaminated with TCE. As a result, the state recommended that local residents not use their wells. The affected residents replaced their contaminated wells with deeper ones in an attempt to tap an uncontaminated water supply. Two more wells found to be contaminated in the AuSable Heights area in 1975 were also replaced with deeper wells. In 1977, the local health department received a complaint about a strong odor from one of the replacement wells. Sampling indicated that the well had also become contaminated with TCE. By 1978, the city of Oscoda had extended water mains into the AuSable Heights subdivision and began providing an alternate water supply to the subdivision. Some property owners in the subdivision elected not to be connected to the Oscoda water system. The Oscoda County Health Department continued to assess conditions at the site and sampled liquids contained in an underground storage tank near the northeastern side of the site in 1980. Upon finding TCE and other solvents, the tank was removed. In 1981, the state installed seven monitoring wells, determined that the groundwater flow beneath the site was to the northeast, and confirmed the presence of solvent contamination. In 1985, the Hedblum Industries property was purchased by Aircraft Tool Supply, which currently produces aircraft parts at the site. EPA proposed to place the Hedblum site on the National Priorities List (NPL) in December 1982 and the site was listed on the NPL in September 1983.
1,489 |
People living within a 1 mile radius |
$45,459 |
Average Income |
659 |
Occupied homes |
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