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U.S. EPA ACTS TO SPEED CLEANUP OF DDT-CONTAMINATED SEDIMENT

Release Date: 12/16/1996
Contact Information: Bill Glenn, U.S. EPA, (415) 744-1589

      (San Francisco)--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) today announced that the remaining DDT-contaminated sediment being dredged from the San Francisco Bay as part of the United Heckathorn Superfund site cleanup will be transported to a disposal site in Utah.  Waste Management Inc., who contracted to do the cleanup for Montrose Chemical Corp., agreed to change the disposal site in order to expedite the completion of the cleanup.

     "Choosing an alternative disposal site will allow us to accomplish our goal of getting this site cleaned up as soon as possible and protecting the environment," said Keith Takata, U.S. EPA's Regional Superfund Director.  "The alternative disposal site will also help us meet our commitment to both the communities of Mobile, Ariz., and Richmond, Calif."

     Since September, the sediment has been shipped by train to the Butterfield State Landfill in Mobile, Ariz.  Use of the new disposal facility -- ECDC, in East Carbon, Utah -- means up to twice as many train cars can be mobilized to transport the sediment.  

       U.S. EPA's cleanup plan called for the completion of dredging in Richmond Harbor by December 1, 1996, in order to minimize the impacts on the herring spawning season in the San Francisco Bay.  The deadline was established after consultation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  Dredging of the contaminated sediment was not completed by the December 1 deadline, and U.S. EPA decided after consulting with NOAA that completing the cleanup as soon as possible would be best for the environment.

     U.S. EPA selected the cleanup plan in 1994 because the contaminated sediment poses a threat to the marine environment and to the Richmond residents who catch and eat the fish from Richmond Harbor.

     
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