Read the full article by Keith Matheny (Detroit Free Press)
“A Detroit site tied to the notorious ‘green ooze’ contamination incident on I-696 in Madison Heights last year was purportedly on its way to having its haphazard pits of contaminants removed last January. But more than eight months later, a resident reports the site on Commonwealth Street is unsecured, easily accessible, with pits of oily pollution remaining and the roof caving in.
‘I was in utter shock. The building is wide open and you can walk in off the street and see this,’ said the source, who requested anonymity. The Free Press was provided photos showing pits containing liquids remaining on the site.
Officials with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy said the site was likely open because the owner, Gary Sayers, is working with city officials and EGLE to remove debris. EGLE staff have asked workers to do a better job securing the location when finished with their work there for the day.
After a toxic ‘green ooze’ containing harmful hexavalent chromium, nonstick PFAS compounds and other contaminants emanated on to I-696 last December, environmental regulators quickly traced it to the troubled Electro-Plating Services business just up the hill in Madison Heights. Regulators quickly learned the business’ owner, Sayers, also had pits full of contaminants at another of his properties, at 5900 Commonwealth St. in Detroit — the site where the resident discovered easy access.
As the freeway ooze cleanup continued, and Sayers reported to prison in January after earlier pleading guilty to illegally storing hazardous materials, EGLE had also begun work on cleaning up the pits of contaminated liquids found at the Commonwealth site. The liquids found contained heavy metals and elevated levels of the PFAS compound PFOS…”