ALTON – Construction crews, working on behalf of Ameren Illinois, are currently removing the concrete insulation cap used during the thermal remediation at the site of the former Alton Manufactured Gas Plant built in 1885, and later home of the former Alton Post Office.
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Ameren Illinois has spent the last 3.5 years using technology called In-situ Thermal Remediation to remove coal tar from impacted soil at 727 Belle Street. This was a voluntary remediation in cooperation with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. The thermal remediation phase of the project is complete and construction crews will be on-site over the next couple of months removing the remaining portion of the old post office and parking lot. The final step will be to restore the site for future use by the end of 2022.
The company will soon be working with the Illinois EPA to obtain a "no further remediation" letter to close out the project with the state. Over the next several months, Ameren Illinois will make a determination as to what do with the 1.7-acre parcel.
"This was the first time Ameren Illinois used thermal remediation at a former gas manufactured plant site," said Project Manager Brian Holderness, Ameren. "During the thermal remediation process, equipment heated the soil to a temperature above the boiling points of the chemicals underground. As the heat increased, the chemicals turned to vapors to allow us to safely extract them from the subsurface. We deemed this new process a success."
The Alton gas plant was built by Alton Gas & Electric in 1855. During the operating years, it manufactured gas from coal and oil for heating, lighting and cooking. The gas plant was acquired by Union Electric Company in 1937. In 1941, the manufacturing of gas stopped. Between 1941 and 1949, the gas plant buildings, relief holder and equipment were demolished and converted for use as the Union Electric Service Center.
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