Fact Sheet - West Chicago, IL
Former W.R. Grace & Company Site West Chicago, Illinois Site Background From 1974 to the early 1990's, the former W.R. Grace & Company facility at 603 Fenton Lane in West Chicago, Illinois, processed vermiculite mined in Libby, Montana. This vermiculite was contaminated with asbestos. The facility exfoliated ("popped" or expanded) vermiculite, which could then be used to manufacture other products. The West Chicago plant processed over 273,000 tons of vermiculite. W.R. Grace closed the facility in 1996 and sold the 6.4-acre site to Royal Corinthian in 1998. Royal Corinthian manufactures marble columns and rails inside the former processing building. Land use immediately surrounding the site is primarily commercial and light industrial. Currently, the nearest residential area is approximately one-half mile east of the site. According to the U.S. Census, over 3,000 people were living within one mile of the site in 1990, which is around the time the plant stopped exfoliating Libby vermiculite. The ground around the building is paved, but much of the rest of site is undeveloped. Recent EPA sampling results indicated a trace amount of residual Libby asbestos in the soil. Samples collected by W.R. Grace in 1996 showed that Libby asbestos levels in the air inside the building were well below levels that would be a health concern. Some information about the air sample results is missing and should be obtained, if possible, to confirm this conclusion. No vermiculite or vermiculite waste stockpiles are present at the site. Conclusions and Recommendations Former Workers - Conclusion: Former workers at the W.R. Grace plant were exposed to hazardous levels of asbestos. People who lived with former workers were probably also exposed to hazardous levels from fibers carried home on workers' hair and clothing.
- Recommendation: Identify former W.R. Grace workers and their household contacts (people who lived with them) to evaluate potential health effects.
Current Workers
- Conclusion: Under current conditions, and assuming only occasional contact with soil that contains Libby asbestos, onsite exposure of workers to contaminated soils does not appear to pose a public health hazard. Based on historical air sample results, the facility appeared to have been cleaned, so the levels of asbestos in air do not appear to pose a public health hazard.
- Recommendation: Provide independent confirmation that current workers inside the building are not being exposed to hazardous levels of Libby asbestos.
Past Community
- Conclusion: Currently not enough data are available to determine whether people who lived near the plant were exposed to hazardous levels of Libby asbestos.
- Recommendation: Review new information that becomes available to determine appropriate actions to protect public health.
Present Community - Conclusion: Community exposure to Libby asbestos from plant emissions or from onsite asbestos-contaminated materials poses no public health hazard. Not enough information is available, however, to determine whether individuals are being exposed to Libby asbestos through direct contact with waste that may have been used in the community. In other communities, waste vermiculite has been used for a variety of purposes, such as fill, driveway surfacing, or soil amendments.
- Recommendation: Review new information that becomes available to determine appropriate actions to protect public health.
Consumer Products | 
