River Cement Co. DBA Buzzi Unicem USA

Background/ History

The River Cement Co. facility, doing business as Buzzi Unicem USA, is located on approximately 2,167 acres at 1000 River Cement Road, about three miles south of Festus. In 1963, the Mississippi River Corp. purchased the land and built the facility, which originally covered about 586 acres. River Cement Co., a subsidiary of the Mississippi River Corp., began operating the facility and limestone quarry in 1965. In 1979, R.C. Cement Co., Inc. purchased the facility. At that time R.C. Cement was 80 percent owned by IFI International S.A. (Luxembourg) and 20 percent owned by Unicem S.p.A. (Italy). R.C. Cement later became wholly-owned by Unicem S.p.A. and in 2000, Unicem merged with Buzzi Cementi to form Buzzi Unicem S.p.A (Italy). In 2003, Buzzi Unicem S.p.A. gained controlling interest in Dyckerhoff AG, which owned, among other companies, Lone Star Industries Inc. In 2004, RC Lonestar Inc., owned by Buzzi Unicem S.p.A. and Dyckerhoff AG, became the US parent company of River Cement. River Cement remains a wholly-owned subsidiary of RC Lonestar Inc. and is licensed to do business in Missouri, and several other states, under the trade name “Buzzi Unicem USA.”

The River Cement Co. facility is considered a closed commercial hazardous waste treatment and storage facility. River Cement originally operated two dry process rotary cement kilns with a precalciner. The kiln produces clinker, the main ingredient in Portland cement. River Cement used mainly coke and coal to heat their kiln system. From January 1989 to 1997, River Cement was allowed to use liquid hazardous waste-derived fuels to supplement its fuel needs. The hazardous waste came from off-site hazardous waste generators or third party hazardous waste blenders or brokers. The on-site hazardous waste fuel facility received the hazardous waste in bulk tanker trucks and railcars, “blended” the waste with other hazardous waste to meet fuel specifications, and stored the resulting wastes in tanks until used as liquid fuel. River Cement disposed its cement kiln dust, a byproduct of the cement production process that could contain hazardous constituents, in two on-site landfills. River Cement operated under a department-issued Hazardous Waste Facility Permit; however, because the original permit was issued before the effective date of the federal Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments, River Cement continued operating under the “interim status” portions of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) after the original permit expired

Cleanup Summary

In May 1997, River Cement submitted a notification letter to the department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indicating that hazardous waste fuels were no longer used at the facility. River Cement closed the hazardous waste management facility in 1998. The facility was not subject to the permitting requirements of the Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Law or federal Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments to RCRA for long-term monitoring and maintenance activities (post-closure care) because River Cement “clean closed” the interim status hazardous waste management units. The facility was subject to the corrective action requirements because River Cement completed the closure activities after the effective date of the federal Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments. In an effort to simplify and streamline the corrective action process, the department and River Cement voluntarily entered into a Letter of Agreement on March 11, 2003.

Investigation results in the “old” landfill area showed soil and sediment contaminated with arsenic above screening levels for both residential and industrial use, but below natural background concentrations. Benzo(a)anthracene was detected in soil above screening levels for residential use, but below screening levels for industrial use. Benzo(a)pyrene was detected in one sediment sample above screening levels for both residential and industrial use. As a precaution, the department and River Cement executed an Environmental Covenant for the “old” landfill area as an additional assurance that unacceptable exposure to contamination above unrestricted use levels would not occur. The covenant was filed with the Jefferson County Recorder of Deeds on Sept. 27, 2013. The covenant restricts the "old" landfill area to non-residential use, prohibits disturbing the soil without written permission from the department and requires notice to construction workers performing work in the area. The department determined the site did not pose any unacceptable risks to human health or the environment. On Sept. 29, 2014, following the opportunity for public review and comment, the department approved the proposed final remedy of no further corrective action with institutional controls. The department released the facility from regulation as a former interim status hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facility subject to the corrective action requirements of the Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Law and regulations, effective Sept. 29, 2014. However, the activity and use limitations contained in the Environmental Covenant will continue to apply