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Final Cleanup Plan Approved for Escambia Wood Treating Company Superfund Site in Pensacola, Fla.

Release Date: 02/16/2006
Contact Information: Laura Niles, (404) 562-8353, [email protected]

(ATLANTA - February 16, 2006) A final cleanup plan, formalized in a document known as the Record of Decision (ROD), has been signed by EPA for the Escambia Wood Treating Company (ETC) Superfund Site in Pensacola, Fla. The ROD outlines the remedy that will be used to address soil contamination of Operable Unit 1 (OU 1).

The major components of the ROD include:

· excavation of contaminated soil both on-site and at surrounding off-site properties;
· provision for permanent relocation of residents in the Clarinda triangle neighborhood;
· containment of the contaminated soil in lined cell(s), followed by installation of a multi-layer cap over the containment area accommodating future commercial use of the property;
· solidification/stabilization of the identified principal threat contaminants from the site to form a sub-cap beneath the multi-layer cap;
· operation and maintenance of the cap and containment system;
· institutional controls to restrict future use of the Site to commercial uses which are compatible with the remedy;
· long-term monitoring to ensure the remedy remains protective of human health and the environment; and
· statutory five-year reviews of the remedy.

EPA modified the initial cleanup plan for the Site based on a re-evaluation of the components of the remedy and community concerns expressed at public meetings for the Site. EPA addressed these concerns through modifications of the remedy in the treatment of principal threat waste, which also increases the long-term reliability of the operation and maintenance and institutional controls for the cap system, and by including residential properties adjacent to the Clarinda triangle study area within the scope of the cleanup. This remedy eliminates human and ecological exposure to contaminated soil, permanently controls the mobility of the contaminants, and is protective of ground water resources. Ground water contamination will be addressed as Operable Unit 2 at the Site at a later date.

The ETC Site is an abandoned wood preserving facility, located at 3910 North Palafox Street in Pensacola, Escambia County, FL, that operated from 1942 until 1982. During its operational period, the facility treated utility poles, foundation pilings, and lumber with creosote and pentachlorophenol. In October 1991, EPA excavated 255,000 cubic yards of contaminated material and stockpiled it under secure cover at the site. In 1997, 358 households around the ETC Site were permanently relocated as part of EPA’s National Relocation Pilot Project.

The ROD and the Administrative Record, a compilation of documents which form the basis for EPA’s selection of the remedy, will be available at the Information Repository for the Site at the West Florida Regional Library, 200 W. Gregory Street, Pensacola, FL 32501.