To the south of the Steel Production Area is the complex of interconnected buildings that defines the Mills Area, which contains the original rolling mill buildings where raw steel is shaped into steel products. Facilities included a plate mill that became the rail finishing mill, the No.1 and No.2 mills boilers, and the universal mill, as well as various fuel storage tanks. Other mills were located outside of the Mills Area, in the Production Support Area to the south. These facilities produced finer steel products such as wire and nails. Due to their separation from the main mill complex, and their physical proximity to repair and support buildings, they are discussed in Section 4.3.3. (following section)

Like the steel production buildings, the rolling mills have earth/slag floors that allow dusts and residues to impact soils. Potential impacts include metals, and petroleum hydrocarbons (PAHs). Proximity of this area to the DOMTAR facility indicates potential impacts of coal tar to both the soil and groundwater. Lubricants and solvents were also used throughout the Mills facilities, and may have impacts on soil and groundwater. Other potential issues include the presence of building materials such as asbestos and lead-based paint, and process wastewater sewers into which materials may have been discharged, as well as PCB-containing electrical transformers, which were known to have been in used in this area.

Production Support Area

Occupying the southern end of the SYSCO site is the Production Support Area. The machine shop, boiler shop, electrical repair shop, a foundry, two pattern shops, storage tanks, a rail car repair shop, several production mills including the tie plate shop, the wire mill, the nail mill, and the rod and bar mills, the general offices, the hospital, the Liquid Air/Air Liquid oxygen plant, and horse stables have all been located in this area. The possibility of numerous isolated environ-mental issues include potential subsurface impacts associated with former underground storage tanks, galvanizing facilities, and chemical storage areas. Lubricants and solvents were used throughout the shops and mills, potentially resulting in impacts to soil and groundwater on the site.

The proximity of this area to the DOMTAR facility indicates potential impacts of coal tar to both the soil and groundwater, similar to the Mills Area. Studies have revealed the presence of coal tar constituents, as well as PCBs and elevated heavy metal concentrations in the soil and groundwater adjacent to Coke Oven Brook and cooling pond. While the Coke Ovens site is the suspected source of these impacts, the potential exists for contamination to have infiltrated the soils and groundwater of the SYSCO property inside the fence line.