Pioneer was retained to performed a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment of a 20-acre site located along the South Branch of the Chicago River. This property had a long history of commercial/industrial uses, including the former use of part of the site as a storage yard by Commonwealth Edison, its current use as a motor freight station/trucking terminal and a large automotive parts distributor. Additionally, through the scaling of available maps and comprehensive historical research, it was determined that an approximate 30-foot-wide section, located along the far eastern portion of the subject site, was historically included within a neighboring Peoples Gas Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) site that previously operated on an adjacent site.

Pioneer obtained documentation related to the adjacent MGP site from the USEPA and Illinois EPA. Through this research, Pioneer was able to show that the MGP site was incorrectly identified in historical records as encompassing a much larger portion of the subject site (in contrast to USEPA documentation) and as a result of our discovery, the majority of the subject site was excluded from further USEPA investigation.

Assessment activities conducted at the oldest and largest building on this 20-acre site—which encompassed more than 1,000,000 square feet—included the sampling of suspect asbestos-containing materials. Pioneer was further retained to develop a bid specification package, to be provided to prospective abatement firms, for the proper removal of asbestos-containing materials and lead-based paint from this enormous structure.