Square D/Schneider Electric - Peru, Indiana

Environmental Cleanups
Sites of Special Interest
Current: Square D/Schneider Electric - Peru, Indiana

Background

The Square D Site is a former electrical parts manufacturer located in Peru, Indiana. The facility began operating in 1881. Schneider Electric USA, Inc. (Schneider) acquired Square D in 1991 and the Site continued the manufacture of panel boards at the facility until May 2020, when the facility shut down operations. The primary operation at the Site from 1958 to 2020 was the construction and painting (powder coating and electrostatic coating) of the metal panels. Site hazardous/non-hazardous material usage included aerosols, powder coating, propane tanks, various oils, paints, wastewater treatment chemicals, and various chemicals/additives used in painting. There was a release to the environment of trichloroethylene (TCE) from the Site at an unknown time. TCE was likely used on this Site as part of historic manufacturing processes, degreasing, and metalworking (VFC# 83253226). The use of TCE did not become regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) until the 1980s.

Resources

IDEM has created a fact sheet [PDF] with information on the Square D/Schneider site, potential health risks to the community and IDEM’s role in the remediation process.

Additional Resources:

These resources can help you better understand vapor intrusion and mitigation:

To access the Square D Site’s reports and IDEM comment letters, type the following address into your browser: http://vfc.idem.in.gov/. Then, under “Alternate Field” select “Land Site ID” and enter the Square D Site identification number “6211202”. Click the “I’m not a robot” box. Click the “Search” button. This Virtual File Cabinet (VFC) will be updated with all submittals from ERM and all IDEM comment letters.

To access the document numbers (VFC#) referenced on this page, under the VFC “Alternate Field” select “Document ID” and enter the referenced number. All referenced documents are discoverable by entering the site information as explained above.

Other Resources

The Indiana Department of Health (DoH) received a cancer inquiry from a citizen concerned about former employees of the Square D/Schneider Electric facility. The DoH reviewed data for cancers associated with TCE exposure. The study revealed "Miami County has lower rates of overall cancer than Indiana as well as many of the types of cancer that this concern focused on." The study concluded that "the cancer data does not show an increase in cancer in either Peru or Miami County. This area will continue to be monitored for cancer data as new years of data become available."

Review the Cancer Inquiry Report [PDF] or request a copy of the report from IDOH at the email address below.

Contact Indiana DOH Cancer Epidemiologist, Taylor Eisele, at TEisele@health.in.gov or (317) 234-5122 for additional information.

December 12, 2023 soil gas monitoring area. Based on several quarters of sampling data, houses outside of the boundary do not need to be accessed for sampling. All houses within the area have either been sampled and are considered safe for occupation or are not occupied. See VFC# 83571312.

Peru Public Information Meeting

On March 2, 2023, representatives from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management's (IDEM) Voluntary Remediation Program conducted a Public Information Session in Peru to provide information on the environmental investigation and remediation process for the former Square D/Schneider Electric site and surrounding area. A recording of the session [YouTube], and displays are available:

January 2023 Split Groundwater Sampling Results

IDEM split groundwater samples in select wells with the consultant ERM on January 18, 2023. IDEM’s results from this sampling event can be viewed at VFC # 83445575.

Contact

For more information, questions, or concerns related to the Square D Site, please contact IDEM’s VRP Project Manager for this Site, Chelsea Day, at (317) 232-8517 or by email at CNDay@idem.in.gov or Bill Holland, Section Chief of VRP, at (317) 234-0967 or by email at BHolland@idem.in.gov.

Note: The effects of exposure to known chemicals at this site is available in several of the documents linked above, including the fact sheet. Questions regarding an individual’s health should be directed to a qualified health care professional.