U.S.

EPA Region 4 Superfund Division

Lees Lane Landfill Superfund Site
Louisville, Kentucky
Information Update
October 2014
Site History
The Lee's Lane Landfill, located in Louisville, Jefferson County,
Kentucky is a 112-acre Site that received over two million cubic yards of
domestic, commercial, and industrial wastes between the 1940s and
1975. Sand and gravel quarrying also occurred on the Site before and
during the property's use as a landfill.
In 1975, residents living next to the Site reported flash fires around their
water heaters. After explosive levels of methane gas were detected,
seven nearby homes were evacuated and purchased by local authorities.
The landfill was closed by the State that same year. In 1980, State per-
sonnel discovered 400 exposed drums of hazardous materials, some
highly flammable, along the Ohio River bank next to the landfill.
The majority of the 1,100 residents of a subdivision located adjacent to
the landfill are connected to a public water supply system, which is
drawn from the Ohio River several miles upstream and is not affected by
the Site.
Threats and Contaminants
Ground water, soil, and surface water were contaminated with benzene,
inorganic chemicals, and heavy metals including lead and arsenic.
Exposed drums were found to contain more than 50 chemicals including
phenolic resins, benzene, and a variety of heavy metals. The primary
health threat from the Site was the potential for explosions from methane
gas vented from the landfill.
Sub-Slab/Crawl Space/Ambient Air Sampling Results
The US EPA Region 4 has received results from the June 2014 vapor
intrusion sampling at homes nearest the Lees Lane Landfill in the Riv-
erside Gardens community. EPA collected air samples at 31 residences.
Ambient air samples were collected at 12 of these residential locations
and on one (1) additional vacant property, for comparison. In 28 of the
locations, the sample was collected in the crawl space of the
home. Where a crawl space was not available, the sample was collected
beneath the foundation of the home (referred to as sub-slab).

Of these samples, results from four (4) locations show concentrations of
chemicals in crawl space/sub-slab air samples that would be of potential
health risk concern if these concentrations were present in residential
indoor air. The chemical constituent levels that exceed the EPA

This Site information sheet
summarizes the history of the
Site, present Site status, and future
activities planned for the Site.

If you have questions or
comments about the Site, please
contact us at the numbers listed
below:

Contact Info:

U.S. EPA
61 Forsyth St.
Atlanta, GA 30303
Donna K. Seadler
Remedial Project Manager
(404) 562-8870
(800) 564-7577
seadler.donna@epa.gov

Sherryl Lane,
Community Involvement
Coordinator
(404) 562-8611
(800) 564-7577
lane.sherryl@epa.gov


KDEP
300 Fair Oaks Lane
Frankfort, KY 40601

Sheri Adkins, Supervisor
Federal Section
Superfund Branch
(502)564-6716
sheri.adkins@ky.gov








Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Region 4
61 Forsyth St., SW
Atlanta, GA 30303
Superfund Division, 11th Floor
Sherryl Lane
Community Involvement Coordinator
Reference Concentration (a concentration that is deemed to be protective of health concerns based on lifetime
exposure). There is likely some reduction in the concentrations of chemicals from the crawl space to the
indoor air in most homes, however, because EPA cannot be certain of this, indoor air sampling for these
locations is recommended as the next step.

There are five (5) other locations where reported concentrations of chemicals in the crawl space, sub-slab, or
nearby ambient air samples are elevated but do not exceed health-based risk levels. The concentrations are
approaching a level of concern if they were in the residential indoor air. The constituents included benzene,
1,2-dichloroethane and 1,4-dichlorobenzene. Since some variability in the air concentrations would be
expected, these locations will also be included in the upcoming indoor air sampling event.

There are a total of eight (8) locations where EPA plans to take indoor air samples. This is due to some
locations having more than one sample that exceeded long-term health risk levels.

EPA currently plans to conduct the additional sampling in November 2014. Keep in mind that the levels of the
constituents detected could potentially be affected by household chemicals, such as solvents, and by cigarette
smoking, which can complicate the interpretation of the data.

Community Outreach
EPA plans to hold a Public Availability Session to discuss residential air quality for these homes when results
of indoor air sampling are received and validated.