What do you know about Armen Cleaners, a dry cleaners at 630 S. Ashley St. on Ann Arbor's Old West Side?
Timeline: Armen Cleaners
December 2, 2016. Toxic vapors getting into homes near Ann Arbor dry cleaner, EPA finds. MLive.
November 17, 2016. EPA testing for toxic vapors in homes near Ann Arbor dry cleaner. MLive
November 8, 2016. EPA in Michigan: Armen Cleaners Ann Arbor Site. EPA. "As part of a broader review of all dry cleaners in the state, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services requested EPA’s assistance at Armen Cleaners after confirming that nearby residential buildings are being affected by releases of the dry cleaning solvent PCE."
January 27, 2012. 618 S. Main Project Gets Planning Support, Ann Arbor Chronicle. "Dan Ketelaar said that getting the site declared a brownfield – making it eligible for certain tax credits or TIF financing – is an important component of the financing. Armen Cleaners, located across the street at the northwest corner of Ashley & Mosley, is one of the most contaminated sites in the city, Ketelaar said. City staff have asked that Ketelaar look at possibly including the Armen Cleaners site as part of a brownfield plan for 618 S. Main – that’s why he hasn’t yet submitted a brownfield plan, Ketelaar said. His team is working on it with Matt Naud, the city’s environmental coordinator."
December 2006. Vapor intrusion and ambient air study, final results report, Armen Cleaners. US EPA Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation. Contract 68-W02-034, Work Assignment 46. 139pp. Fig. 18 reproduced below.
April 20. 2005. Health Consultation. US Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
April 18, 2005. Site may pose future risk - Dry-cleaning chemical not current health hazard, officials say. Ann Arbor News. "Erik Janus of the Michigan Department of Community Health said the concern is that perchloroethylene in the groundwater could migrate beneath homes in the area and build up to a level that could pose a health threat in the future if it vaporized through the floor or foundation."
April 11, 2005.MDCH Releases Public Health Consultation For Washtenaw County Dry Cleaners "The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) has found that a Washtenaw County dry cleaning business may pose a future public health hazard if the site is not remediated."
March 10, 2003. Ann Arbor City Council holds a working session about the site, with a presentation from Matt Naud.
Early 2003. The Ann Arbor News runs stories about Armen Cleaners and the pollution on the site.
2000. Following its investigation of nearby soil and groundwater, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality provided one home with air purifiers.
April 26, 1986. Pollution Sites Get Top Priority. Ann Arbor News.
November 26, 1985. Contaminated Soil Removed As Chemical Cleanup Begins. Ann Arbor News.
August 20, 1985. State Takes ' Wait-And-See' Attitude In Dry-Cleaner Waste-Hauling Case. Ann Arbor News.
August 11, 1985. State Probes Illegal Dumping Of Toxic Fluid. Ann Arbor News.
1985. PCE first detected in groundwater at the site.
1980. Fred Amarsi owns the business.
1972. Armen Cleaners, photo Ann Arbor Historical Signs collection (photo 845).
1947. Armen Cleaners opens.
