Background/ History
The Broski Brothers Inc. site is located on about 7.5 acres at 39th and Belmont in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1977, All-Brite Galvanizing Co. built an evaporation surface impoundment at the site, to receive spent pickle liquor from galvanizing operations at All-Brite’s facility at 7700 E. 12th St., Kansas City and Broski Brothers facility at 3915 Fuller St., Kansas City. As a precursor to the galvanizing process, steel products are submerged in several baths of pickling liquor (heated 5% sulfuric acid) to remove rust, scale and dirt. Broski Brothers purchased All-Brite in 1968, but continued to use the All-Brite name until it became part of Broski Brothers in 1985.
Spent pickling liquor was produced as part of the facility operations. Periodically, the pickling liquor must be replaced and the spent solution disposed. When All-Brite submitted a permit application in October 1980, spent pickle liquor from steel finishing operations was a listed hazardous waste (K062) based on its high levels of lead and hexavalent chromium. All-Brite operated the surface impoundment under the “interim status” portions of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
Cleanup Summary
Broski Brothers stopped disposing of spent pickle liquor in the surface impoundment in July 1985. In May 1986, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) redefined the K062 hazardous waste listing, resulting in the spent pickle liquor produced by the galvanizing operation to no longer be classified as hazardous waste. In 1988, Broski Brothers closed the surface impoundment with treated waste in place. Sampling performed at the site showed groundwater and soil contaminated with cadmium, lead, iron, manganese, and zinc. Groundwater monitoring revealed a groundwater plume west of the former impoundment. Additional monitoring showed the plume was small and contaminant concentrations were decreasing. Broski Brothers performed additional remedial activities for the plume and associated soil contamination in 1996. A Deed Notice, signed by the Jackson County Recorder of Deeds in 1988, and later amended in 1996, was placed on the property in order to inform potential future buyers that the property was used to manage hazardous waste. The department accepted Broski Brother’s closure certification for the impoundment and plume in 1997, and released the facility from post-closure care.
In 2001, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers removed a large part of the closed surface impoundment and site during channelization work along the Blue River in conjunction with the Blue River Basin Flood Protection Project. In November 2007, the department determined the site cleanup was complete and the site does not pose any unacceptable risks to human health or the environment. As of 2013, this status remains unchanged.
