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U.S. EPA REACHES LORENTZ SUPERFUND SITE SETTLEMENT

Release Date: 8/2/1996
Contact Information: Lois Grunwald, U.S. EPA, (415) 744-1588

     (San Francisco) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) today announced a proposed settlement with 60 parties to help fund the cleanup of the Lorentz Barrel and Drum Superfund site in San Jose, Calif.

     "This is a quick way for companies that contributed a small amount of waste to the site to resolve their liability and move on," said Keith Takata, U.S. EPA regional Superfund director.

     The settlement totals $2.7 million for past and future costs at the site, providing U.S. EPA with $1.8 million and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control $865,000. Because each of the settling parties contributed a relatively small percentage of the hazardous substances sent to the site, they were eligible for an expedited settlement that reduced their costs.

     U.S. EPA is soliciting comment on the settlement during a 30-day public comment period that begins August 2, 1996. Written comments should reference docket number 96-01. The public should send written comments, postmarked by September 3, 1996, to:

     Steven Armsey
     Regional Hearing Clerk
     U.S. EPA, Region 9
     75 Hawthorne St.
     San Francisco, CA 94105

     If U.S. EPA receives a written request for a public meeting by September 3, 1996, the agency will hold a meeting to discuss the proposed settlement.

     In March 1995, U.S. EPA entered into a $3 million settlement to fund a portion of the cleanup with 88 other parties that contributed a small amount of waste to the site.

     U.S. EPA has selected a final cleanup action for the site which includes capping portions of the site with aspaltic- concrete and treating soil contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with a soil vapor extraction system. The warehouse, old wells and septic systems, sewer lines and other debris will be removed. The contaminants are primarily VOCs, industrial pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and lead.

     A group of potentially responsible parties have already removed sumps and debris, and demolished and disposed of buildings at an approved off-site facility. A groundwater treatment plant was built and began operating in 1992. Earlier cleanup actions included removing the most heavily contaminated soil and more than 26,000 drums from the site.

     The Lorentz facility operated from approximately 1947 to 1987. During that time, the operator of the facility accepted used barrels for cleaning and recycling. Over 3,000 parties sent drums to the facility for recycling. Soils on the Lorentz property and shallow groundwater beneath the property and neighboring sports fields were contaminated with drum residues and some of the chemicals used in the recycling process.

     The Lorentz site was placed on the federal Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) in October 1989. The NPL is the U.S. EPA's list of hazardous waste sites potentially posing the greatest threats to nearby populations through actual or potential contamination of groundwater, surface water or air.


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