Dorothy Gunn, Clerk

Illinois Pollution Control Board

James R. Thompson Center

100 W. Randolph St . Ste 11-500

Chicago, IL 60601

Dear Ms . Gunn :

I am writing in support of the American Bottom Conservancy's request for a

public hearing on the IEPA water permit to U.S

. Steel Granite City Works for its

industrial discharge into Horseshoe Lake, Madison County

. The case number is 06-171 .

My students and I have conducted research on the chemical composition of the lake

sediment since 2001 . We took multiple cores from the sediment and found that lead

concentrations reached 365 mg/Kg, zinc reached 4,000 mg/Kg, cadmium was 15mg/Kg

.

In all sediment cores the concentrations of heavy metals increased at the top of the cores

indicating that the heavy metal contamination of the lake is relatively recent . Our dating

of the sediment cores showed that the increases in metals contamination began in the

early part of the 20th century

. The timing of the increase in heavy metals suggests that it

is a result of contamination by local Granite City industries . Our studies of lead

isotopes in the lake sediment indicate that touch of the

ration came from the NL

Industries/Taracorp smelter located in Granite City

. The smelter site and contaminated

locations in Granite City were remediated under CERCLA, but the lake remains

contaminated .

Our studies do not measure the extent of contamination of the lake that is

attributable to the US Steel Granite City Works effluent

. I have, however, reviewed the

Facilities Report for the Granite City Works on the USEPA website and find surface

water releases of lead and zinc . It is important to manage this effluent so that it does not

add to the already high levels of contamination that are in the lake

. The lake is a major

recreational resource for Southwestern Illinois that has been degraded in the past by poor

management of hazardous wastes by local industries

. I would like to make certain that

current management practices at the plant provide protection for the Lake

. It is important

to make certain that there be no further degradation of the lake environment

.

College of Arts and Sciences, Dgpartment of Biological Sciences

Science Building, Room 3300, Box 1651, Edwardsville, Illinois 62026-1651, 618/650-3927, Fax : 618/650-3174

EDW `ARDSVILLE

12/14/2006

RECEIVED

CLERK'S OFFICE

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18 2006

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STATE

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Our studies are available online in the following locations

:

Brugam, R.B ., I . Bala,B. Vermillion, W. Retzlaff 2002 . Historical impact of

industrial development on Groundwater and surface water quality in the American

bottoms Progress Report 1, Illinois Groundwater Consortium . 9 pp

http://www.siu .edu/orda/igc/proceedings/02/brugam .pdf

Brugam, R.B., I . Bala,B. Vermillion, W. Retzlaff 2003 . Historical impact of

industrial development on Groundwater and surface water quality in the American

bottoms Progress Report 2,

Illinois Groundwater Consortium

.

l7pp

http://www.siu .edu/orda/igc/proceedings/03/brugam .pdf

Brugam, R.B., I . Bala, J. Martin, B . Vermilion, and W. Retzlaff. 2003 . The

Sedimentary Record of Environmental Contamination in Horseshoe Lake, Madison

County, Illinois

.

Transactions of the Illinois State Academy ofScience 96 :205-218 .

http://www.il-st-acad-sci .org/transactions/PDF/9620 .pdf

Vermillion, B, Brugam, R ., RetzlaffZ W . and Bala, I. 2005

. The sedimentary

record of environmental lead contamination at St . Louis, Missouri, U .S.A. area smelters.

Journal ofPaleolimnology 33 :189-203 .

http://www.springerlink.com/content/r422372152714uOV?p=26d2074ee l a54d98bi96cbec

b11a9a03&pi=0

Yours truly,

G

Richard B. Brugam

Professor

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