Officials ready cleanup of Illinois gas plant

QUINCY – A central Illinois utility company announced it would launch a $20 million cleanup of underground contaminants at a defunct gas-manufacturing plant in Quincy.

AmerenCIPS officials said contaminants at the former Quincy Gaslight and Coke Company include coal tar, which contains carcinogens, and could pose a health risk if disturbed, according to a November company progress report.

There is no immediate health risk because the public does not have direct or prolonged exposure to the black gooey substance or contaminated soil and groundwater, Ameren Illinois Utilities spokesman Leigh Morris said Tuesday.

“Nonetheless, you don’t want that stuff there,” he said.

Similar cleanups at former manufactured-gas plants have been continuing for decades in Illinois. Demand for manufactured gas waned after interstate pipelines brought natural gas to the state in 1930s.

Ameren voluntarily has conducted about 20 cleanups and is expected to finish approximately 20 more by 2015.

The Quincy project, which is scheduled to start in January and could take up to two years, is among the largest of the cleanups.

Morris said workers first would take precautionary steps, such as putting up a tent with carbon filters to contain dust and vapors. After that, they will install a new sewer system, remove the contaminants and replace the soil.

Quincy Gaslight began producing gas in 1854 and was dismantled in 1943. Ameren officials tested soil and water samples in 2006 and found a cleanup was needed.

“The results were used to evaluate health risks for the current and potential future site uses and to development actions to address soil and groundwater conditions at the site,” according to the company report.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said it would monitor the project.

The money for the cleanup comes through a fee that has been charged on utility bills for years, Morris said.