CALUMET — The chemical material found in tanks beneath the rear section of the former Calumet Laundromat during the cleanup of the Fifth May Fifth Street fire was identified as Tetrachloroethylene, also known as Perchlorethylene, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) On-Scene Coordinator Brian Kelly said Tuesday.

Eight chemical storage tanks were discovered while Kelly’s crew was removing the last cement pad behind the former Calumet Laundromat, which stood at 120 Fifth Street. Most of the tanks, he said, were rusted and had released their contents into the ground. The contaminated soil was removed at the surface. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is scheduled to investigate the extent of the release and determine if more soil needs to be removed when the EPA returns to the site in the spring.

“We are still working on disposing of the soil,” said Kelly, “and working with EGLE on further characterizing what remains.”

Tetrachloroethene is a manufactured chemical that is widely used in the dry-cleaning of fabrics, including clothes. It is also used for degreasing metal parts and in manufacturing other chemicals. Tetrachloroethene is found in consumer products, including some paint and spot removers, water repellents, brake and wood cleaners, glues, and suede protectors. Other names for tetrachloroethene include PERC, tetrachloroethylene, perchloroethylene, and PCE.

By Oct. 20, the contaminated soil had been removed from the location of the tanks, and the basements of the destroyed buildings had been backfilled.

In consultation with the Calumet Village Council trustees and EGLE in Oct. it was decided to wait until spring to add topsoil, rather than this fall. The concern was placing backfill this late in the year would erode into Fifth Street.

The chemical tanks were a holdover from the early to mid 1970s, when the Calumet Laundromat was also a dry-cleaner, the facilities of which were located at the rear of the Fifth Street laundromat.

As of Tuesday, the Houghton County Sheriff’s Office has still not received a report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) as to the cause of the fire that destroyed the east 100 block of the street.