THE GENERAL DIE CASTING COMPANY OPERATED THE FACILITY FROM AUGUST 1970 TO DECEMBER 1988 AS A PLATING FACILITY IN WHICH IT MANUFACTURED AND ELECTROPLATED ZINC DIE CASTINGS. CHEMICALS COMMONLY USED IN ELECTROPLATING OPERATIONS INCLUDE: NICKEL, LEAD, ZINC, COPPER SULFIDES, CHROME PLATING AND CYANIDE COMPOUNDS. THE FACILITY IS LOCATED ON APPROXIMATELY 0.6 ACRES OF LAND WHICH IS BOUNDED BY MOUNT ELLIOT STREET ON THE WESTERN EDGE, CONRAIL TRACKS ON THE EAST, CENTRAL STEEL & WIRE ON THE WEST, AND INDUSTRIAL BUSINESSES ON THE NORTH AND SOUTH. THE AREA IS CONSIDERED A MIXTURE OF RESIDENTIAL AND LIGHT INDUSTRIAL BUSINESSES. CS & W HAD SOILS SAMPLES TAKEN FROM THE FACILTY. THE RESULTS SHOWED SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF CYANIDE IN THE SOILS. THESE SAMPLES WERE FOLLOWED UP BY SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS BY THE MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES. MDNR SAMPLE RESULTS SHOWED CYANIDE IN SOILS NEAR THE FACILITY BUILDING, PLUS ELEVATED LEVELS OF ARSENIC, BARIUM, CHROMIUM, COPPER, MERCURY, NICKEL, LEAD, SELENIUM, AND ZINC WERE FOUND. ON MAY 3, 1991, AN INSPECTION, ATTENDED BY THEN EPA EMPLOYEE, JIM SIAS, FOUND THAT SOILS HAD BEEN EXCAVATED AND REMOVED ALONG THE SOUTH EXTERIOR OF THE BUILDING ON SITE WHICH FACES CENTRAL STEEL & WIRE. SLUDGES HAD ALSO BEEN REMOVED FROM INSIDE THE BUILDING AT THAT TIME. THE UAO INDICATES THAT MR. SHIRLEY W