(Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette) The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department issued a warning regarding physical and chemical hazards near the Julio scrap yards in Ripley Monday, advising people to avoid activity near them.

RIPLEY — The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department (WUPHD) issued a warning Monday for people to avoid activity near the Julio scrap yards in Ripley after testing showed elevated levels of asbestos and heavy metals.

Sampling was conducted by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) in 2018 and has continued since. The testing was done as part of the Torch Lake Abandoned Mining Wastes project, which has been ongoing since 2014, said Clif Clark, Upper Peninsula district director for EGLE.

They had begun at the north end of Torch Lake and proceeded south along the shoreline to tackle issues the Environmental Protection Agency had not addressed as part of its Superfund program.

At the end of Torch Lake, it turned west to cover former properties of the Quincy Mining Co., including the scrap yard property. Once they got onto the Julio properties, they realized the contamination was more related to the scrapyard than to the mining era, Clark said.

Testing found high levels of heavy metals, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), lead and mercury. Asbestos was also found in the soil around an state ORV trail adjacent to the scrapyards.

“We found a broad array of contaminants at high enough levels to be of concern,” Clark said.

Vehicles can disturb the soil, sending tiny asbestos fibers into the air. They linger for a long time. Once inhaled, they embed in the lungs, potentially leading to lung damage asbestosis and cancer.

No direct health issues with residents have been reported so far, said Kate Beer, health officer for the WUPHD.

The Department of Natural Resources will be in charge of removing contaminated material off the ORV trail, Beer said.

It is possible there was surface runoff during the 2018 flood, though that is unknown, Clark said.

The WUPHD is asking the public to avoid activity on the scrapyard properties indefinitely, and to avoid the sections of the ORV trail that run through or are adjacent to the property. The scrapyards consist of several properties within a third of a mile east or west of Julio Contracting, along M-26.

EGLE referred the trail section to the EPA’s removal branch, which operates separately from the remedial branch that handles the Torch Lake Superfund site.

“They’ve helped us on 10 or so projects on the western shoreline of Torch Lake,” Clark said. “They begin a project, they pursue it, they finish it.”

The DNR has blocked off access to the affected trail, steering people to a route closer to M-26, Clark said.

The project is complicated due to the ongoing scrapyard operation, Clark said.

“I’m glad the Health Department took the action they did in the interim, but winter’s going to be quickly upon us and it’ll be a hard time to work out there,” he said. “I’m thinking next year you’ll see cleanup soon.”

EGLE had communicated with owner Lawrence Julio before his death about the findings, but had not gotten a meaningful response, Clark said.

Because the scrapyard is on private property, it is premature to speculate on what the full remediation will look like, Clark said.

Beer said the agencies are working with the Julio scrapyard owners to see what their best options are. The WUPHD has asked the scrapyard to restrict public access and work for removal, Beer said.

“I’m hoping they don’t continue to operate,” she said.

Beer said the WUPHD continues to work along with EGLE, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and EPA.

“It’s a partnership among all these agencies trying to make an impact on the area,” she said.

For more information, contact the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department at (906) 482-7382. Questions about health concerns can be directed to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services at 1-800-648-6942.