International Vermiculite Company/Thermic Refractories/Thermal Ceramics, 115 E. Mound Street, Girard, Illinois
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EPA
Region		 Location of facility Type of facility Amount
of ore
received
(in tons)		 Did
EPA
visit
the
site?		 Were
samples
taken?		 Results of
evaluation
5 115 E. Mound Street, Girard, Illinois Active exfoliation facility 51,835 Yes-March 6, 2000 No According to an EPA database compiled from W.R. Grace shipping invoices, 51,835 tons of vermiculite ore from the Libby mine were shipped to this site between January 1967 and October 1992. According to information EPA gathered, this facility was initially called International Vermiculite Company, then became Thermic Refractories in 1984, and then Thermal Ceramics in 1996. At the time of EPA's visit, the Thermal Ceramics plant manager said the company was manufacturing insulation and used vermiculite in the production process. The plant manager said the company obtained vermiculite from W.R. Grace in South Carolina and from Carolina Vermiculite, also located in South Carolina (both of these sites are listed separately in this database). According to the plant manager, both International Vermiculite and Thermic Refractories had received vermiculite ore from the Libby mine and the ore was exfoliated at the site. The manager said, to his knowledge, waste material was not disposed of on-site and that Thermic Refractories had stopped using Libby ore around 1985 or 1986. The plant manager also said an asbestos cleanup was conducted at the site in 1994 or 1995 under the oversight of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (Illinois EPA), which included cleaning the original building where vermiculite exfoliation occurred. EPA requested sampling data from the Illinois EPA but did not receive the data; however, EPA did receive confirmation from Illinois EPA that the asbestos cleanup at the facility was completed under state oversight. At the time of EPA's site visit, the plant manager refused to allow EPA to observe Thermal Ceramics’ storage practices, current operations, and dust control practices and did not allow EPA to take samples. EPA did not take further action on this site.

GAO-09-6R