Friends,
We had a visit this week from Anne Vogel, our EPA Regional Administrator. She came to see the Pillsbury site and the cleanup progress that has been made possible with over $3M in grant funding from EPA. She oversees EPA Region V which includes all of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. It was a great opportunity to demonstrate how the grant funds are being spent and why it is so important for our community.
The largest part of the cleanup at this stage of the project involves the removal of the silver paint coating on the silos and headhouse. It has approximately 5% of asbestos content and has been problematic for years. Once this 290,000 sq. ft. surface coating is removed, we can demolish these structures and recycle the estimated 70,000 tons of concrete.
These cleanup funds were a critical component in bringing the overall project together. The cleanup must be completed prior to demolition so that renewal at the site could take place. In just a few short weeks, the silo cleanup will be completed, and we can move forward to the much-anticipated large-scale demolition aspect of the project. All the smaller structures at the site have now been cleaned up and removed.
A special thank you to Frank Bowen, our volunteer Pillsbury Project photographer, for attending the site visit this week and providing great photos. He has been there for nearly all our big events and has produced an impressive photo catalog of our various site activities.
Thanks for being a part of this important community project!
~ Team Pillsbury
