1

U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

PROPOSED PLAN FOLLOW-UP OFF-SITE SOIL REMEDY FACT SHEET

September 2010

Cabot Carbon/Koppers Superfund Site Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida

Introduction This fact sheet, issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), provides clarification and additional information about off-Site soil activities associated with the preferred remedy in the Proposed Plan for the Cabot Carbon/Koppers Superfund Site (Site), Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida. EPA presented the preferred remedy for the Site during a public meeting held on August 5th, 2010. The EPA determined that it should provide more details and clarification of the preferred remedy in response to questions and concerns voiced by the community during that meeting. A separate fact sheet for other components of the preferred remedy is being prepared. This fact sheet provides a brief Site summary, addresses specific components of off-site soil activities included in the preferred remedy, and discusses other community concerns related to off-site soil cleanup. Site Summary The Cabot Carbon/Koppers Superfund Site is located in a commercial and residential area of the northern part of the Gainesville city limits, Alachua County, Florida. This Site was originally two Sites: Cabot Carbon in the southeast portion of the Site and Koppers on the western portion of the Site (Figure 1). Cabot Carbon was a pine tar and charcoal generation facility, but is now commercial property. Koppers was an active wood-treating facility until December 2009. Although remedial investigations at the Cabot Carbon/Koppers Site began in 1983 and are now completed, EPA will continue to collect sampling data for

groundwater, soil, sediment, and surface water to evaluate the effectiveness of the remedy over time. From this point forward the word “Site” will refer to the Koppers (western portion) of the Cabot Carbon/Koppers Superfund Site, unless otherwise specified. The word “off-site” will refer to residential and industrial areas

Availability Session Date: October 6, 2010

Time: 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM

Location: Eastside Community Center 2841 East University Avenue

Gainesville, Florida 32601

The community is invited to a public availability session regarding the Cabot Carbon/Koppers Site. Representatives from EPA, the Florida Department of Health (FDOH), and the Alachua County Environmental Protection Department (ACEPD) will be available to provide information and answer questions about upcoming activities at the Site.

The Administrative Record file for the

Cabot Carbon/Koppers Site is available at the following location:

Alachua County Library 401 E. University Ave. Gainesville, FL 32601

(352) 334-3900 www.aclib.us/locations/headquarters

2

3

surrounding the Site. Hogtown and Springstead creeks to the north and west of the Site are also considered off-site, but will be addressed in a separate preferred remedy fact sheet. Site contamination is a result of releases of wood-treatment chemicals. Site contaminants are associated with the historical use of creosote for wood treating and include mobile and/or residual dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs). DNAPLs are organic substances that do not mix with and are heavier than water. Site contaminants also include arsenic, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and dioxins/furans in soil, sediment, and groundwater. The most predominant contaminant in groundwater is PAHs. Please refer to the Feasibility Study (FS) and Proposed Plan for additional details. Preferred Remedy The preferred remedy for this Site is the result of years of collaborative effort and thorough review on the part of many organizations, including input from local agencies and the public. This preferred remedy is robust and protective of human health and the environment. Its selection initiates cleanup design and action consistent with containing, treating, and controlling contamination associated with the Site. It was selected over other options because it was determined to provide the overall optimal solution based on the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) FS evaluation criteria. The preferred remedy is compatible with the anticipated future use of the property, as described in more detail below. The preferred remedy has three parts that address three distinct media groups: on-Site media (soil and groundwater above the Upper Floridan Aquifer [UFA]), groundwater in the UFA, and off-site media (soil, sediment, and surface water). The activities proposed for cleanup of off-site soil will be described in this fact sheet. A general summary of off-site soil cleanup activities is presented first, followed by responses to concerns that have been voiced by the community.

Off-Site Soil Cleanup Summary Contaminants present in off-site soil include arsenic, PAHs, and dioxins/furans. Cleanup of off-site soil will address contaminant levels that pose unacceptable risk at residences, as well as commercial properties surrounding the Site. For soil contamination, a range of options are proposed for use on individual subparcels after obtaining the consent of private property owners. The options include: Excavation and removal of soil containing

concentrations of contaminants that exceed specified cleanup goals associated with present use of the land.

Engineered controls that prevent contact with impacted soil that exceeds cleanup goals based on present land use.

Institutional controls that protect access and use of land/properties.

How is off-site soil contamination being assessed? Off-site soil sampling and analyses have been conducted in the Gainesville area. The sampling results are included as an attachment to this fact sheet. Results to date indicate that the top six inches of soil obtained from right-of-way samples up to 300 feet west of the Site contain dioxin, and to a much lesser degree arsenic and PAHs at concentrations above the Florida cleanup target levels for unrestricted residential use. The highest contaminant concentrations were observed just outside the western Site fenceline. Soil samples collected to the north of the Site were below Florida cleanup target levels for unrestricted residential use. Further off-site soil sampling is currently being completed in residential yards in the Stephen Foster neighborhood and in City right-of-ways to the south, northeast, and east of the former Koppers facility. Results of these samples should be available in December 2010. Those sample results will be provided to property owners as well as the general public at that time.

4

What are dioxins and where might they be found? Dioxins typically refer to a group of 75 different chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins that have similar chemical structures (congeners). Chlorinated dibenzo furans (furans) are also structurally similar to dioxins. There are 210 structurally related compounds in the dioxin/furan family. Dioxins are known contaminants of the wood preservative pentachlorophenol (PCP). PCP was used in the wood treating process at the Koppers Site beginning in 1969 and was discontinued by 1990. Of the dioxin/furan family of contaminants, seventeen are potentially toxic according to the World Health Organization. Dioxins are found almost everywhere in the environment at low levels (parts per trillion [ppt] or parts per quadrillion [ppq]) in the air, water, and soil. At the Koppers Site dioxins presumably entered the environment when wood-treatment chemicals were dripped onto the soil or deposited into unlined lagoons. Dioxins bind strongly to soil and sediments and are suspected of being transported off-site through movement of surface soils via windblown dust and sediments via storm water runoff. Soil particles carried in storm water would have likely been deposited in the drainage ditch that begins on-Site and directs storm water north toward Hogtown Creek and subsequently flows into Springstead Creek. Dioxins have very low solubilities in water (i.e., they will not dissolve into water from the sediment particles). Therefore, dioxins bound in this sediment are unlikely to degrade significantly. Soil-bound dioxins were presumably transported off-site due to windblown dust were deposited in areas surrounding the Site . That is, the soil particles either settle out of the air due to gravity, or are washed out by rainfall. After these soil particles are deposited to the ground surface, soil-bound dioxins are unlikely to reach the underlying groundwater due to being very insoluble in water.

What studies are being conducted to determine if contaminated soil will affect human health? Concentrations of site-related contaminants in off-site soil are being compared to the Florida SCTLs. SCTLs are conservative and protective of human health for intended uses of the land (i.e., there are different cleanup levels for residential and commercial land uses). The Florida Department of Health (FDOH) is conducting a health survey in the vicinity of the former Koppers Site and continues to issue health advisories as soil sampling results are obtained. How will remediation of off-site properties be conducted? Cleanup of off-site properties will expedited. Off-site sampling will continue throughout the process to expedite completion of off-site cleanup. The primary approach for off-site soil that contains a Site contaminant that exceeds the Florida SCTL is removal of soil with replacement of clean soil to a depth of up to 2 feet. A secondary approach that is consistent with Florida law involves developing a voluntary agreement between property owners and the responsible party, Beazer East, that may require institutional controls (i.e., deed restrictions or engineering controls, such as an asphalt driveway) that prevent exposure to soils that exceed default SCTLs. Why was re-location of residents not addressed? Residents surrounding the Site are not located on a direct source area or a highly contaminated groundwater plume. Based on concentrations of contaminants in surface soil at surrounding residences and the practical remedial alternatives that exist for preventing exposure to these soils, relocation is not warranted. Alternatives presented in the preferred remedy will be protective of human health.

5

How will EPA determine that no contamination is left at my property? After the off-site soil remedies have been implemented, EPA will collect soil samples to confirm that contaminated soils have been removed, or if selected by property owners, engineering controls are properly in place. EPA provides information to the community regarding Site cleanup through fact sheets, public meetings, local Site information repository, and the Administrative Record file. Copies of data and reports generated during Site investigations for use in the remedy selection process are located in the Administrative Record file. This fact sheet will become part of the Administrative Record file for the cleanup decision for the Carbon/Koppers Superfund Site. The public may review this file at the Alachua County Library. EPA will be providing an additional opportunity for the community to address any remaining questions they may have about Site cleanup during an availability session that will be held from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM on October 6, 2010, at the Eastside Community Center, 2841 East University Avenue, Gainesville, Florida 32601. Availability Session An availability session for the Cabot Carbon/ Koppers Superfund Site will be held from 6:00 PM until 9:00 PM on October 6, 2010, at the Eastside Community Center, 2841 East University Avenue, Gainesville, Florida 32601.

Mailing List Anyone wishing to be placed on the mailing list for this Site should send his/her request to Ms. LaTonya Spencer, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator, at the above address. You may also call Ms. Spencer with your request at (800) 435-9234 or (404) 562-8463 Information Repositories Information concerning the Cabot Carbon/ Koppers Superfund Site may be found at the following location:

Alachua County Library 401 E. University Ave. Gainesville, FL 32601

(352) 334-3860 www.aclib.us/locations/headquarters

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

ATTACHMENT

Off-site Soil Sampling Results

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

This Page Intentionally Left Blank