CHARACTERIZATION OF THE ACME SITE CONTAMINATED WITH CHLORINATED SOLVENTS AND HEAVY METALS, ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS

This project is focuses on the Acme Solvent Site located in New Millford, IL just outside of Rockford. Acme Solvent recycled waste solvents from different manufactures in Rockford and then illegally disposed their sludge in unlined pits in New Millford. As a result of the dumping, chlorinated solvents and heavy metals have been transported into the groundwater. The resulting plume consists of trichloroethylene (TCE) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), along with heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, chromium, cadmium, thallium, and mercury. The main objective for this research is to characterize the hydrogeology and delineate the contaminant plumes at this southeast Rockford site. More specifically, the structure and stratigraphy of the site will be determined by using geophysics (EC logs and well logging) as well as taking soil and sediment boring samples using the Geoprobe 6600. With topographic maps and these samples, three cross-section of the site were produced. For geochemistry, water samples was collected to determine the concentrations and locations of the contaminants of the current plume. Groundwater levels was monitored to calculate groundwater flow rates and hydraulic properties. The hydraulic conductivities of the material was calculated by performing slug and pump tests. This information gave a picture of the current state of the site and was compared to previous research to determine if natural attenuation is an appropriate remediation technique.