United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5502G)
EPA 520-F-94-009
Spring 1994
Superfund At Work
Hazardous Waste Cleanup Efforts Nationwide
U.S. Envirc"
".if
fiction Aeencv
Woodbury Chemical Co.
Site Profile
Site Description:
in Commerce C8y, Colorado
Primary Contaminants:
Pesticides, heavy metals, and
Success in Brief
Site Restored forTJnresWcted
Use in Colorado
Careless management practices characterized the operations of the
Woodbury Chemical Company during almost 20 years of pesticide
manufacturing. The company folded in 1971, leaving behind highly
contaminated soil and debris as well as tainted surface water. State
officials called upon the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to
authorize an expedited cleanup under the Superfund program because
of the property's proximity to a minority community. Using enforce-
ment authority, EPA located the parties responsible for the contamina-
tion and negotiated a thorough remediation, allowing unrestricted
redevelopment of the site. Highlights of the overall effort included:
• Excavation and incineration of 2500 truck loads of soil and debris
and disposal of contaminated materials at permitted facilities;
• An extensive community relations program that included door-
to-door outreach and Spanish translation of documents;
• Recovery of EPA's site investigation and oversight costs;
• Deletion of the site from EPA's National Priorities List in 1993, the
first in Colorado and Region 8.
Despite the potential for considerable environmental damage from
heavy concentrations of pesticide residues, the exposure to the local
population was minimal.
Potential Range of Health Risks:
Acute toxicity, skin and eye
irritations, increased risk of cancer
Nearby Population:
3,000 people within one mile ,
Ecological Concerns:
Year Listed on NPL: 1983
EPA Region: 8
State: Colorado
Congressional District: 1
Children play on a cool, spring morning after EPA staff explained the
Superfund process to parents.
The Site Today
Excavation and incinera-
tion are complete; old
buildings and concrete
foundations are gone. The
site has been backfilled
with clean soil and planted
with grass. Because of the
efficient and conscientious
removal of contaminants,
the site can be converted to
more productive uses,
resulting in greater benefits
for nearby residents.
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Superfund At Work • Woodbury Chemical Co. Site, Commerce City, Colorado • Spring 1994 .
The 15-acre Woodbury
Chemical Company site is
located in Commerce City,
Colorado on the north Denver
County line. A mobile home
park is located one-third of a
mile from the property and
about 3,000 people work or live
within a one-mile radius.
Woodbury Chemical Com-
pany operated a pesticide
formulation facility at the site
from the late 1950s until 1971.
When a fire destroyed the main
building in 1965, debris and
rubble, including water-soaked
bags of pesticides and contami-
nated soil, were carelessly
dumped in a vacant lot next
door. A new building was
constructed on the original site
and manufacturing resumed.
Five years after Woodbury
Chemical closed its doors, the
A Site Snapshot
local health department was
alerted to contaminated storm
runoff from the vacant lot.
Analysis of samples revealed
chlorinated pesticides, heavy
metals, and volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) in the soil
and an aquifer north of the site.
Fortunately, samples of six wells
in the vicinity found no evidence
of contamination.
Most synthetically-derived
pesticides are highly
persistent, meaning
residues are left in the
environment for long
periods of time, even
years. These pesticides
can cause a variety of acute toxic
reactions, skin and eye irritations,
cancers, birth defects, and repro-
ductive system disorders. In
addition, pesticides in soil and
ground water can render habitat
unusable for a variety of spe-
cies, including birds, mammals,
reptiles, and indigenous plants.
Because of health and envi-
ronmental effects, EPA has
banned many different pesti-
cides, including aldrin, DDT,
sodium arsenite, and vinyl
chloride, some of the same
chemicals used at Woodbury
Chemical.
Woodbury Chemical
Company Site
Commerce City, Colorado
Woodbury Chemical
Company Site
Timeline
•Site listed on NPL
* EPA installs fence and warning signs
Initial site studies completed
1
Congress enacts Superfund
> Health Department alerted, samples vacant lot
Company closes down
»Fire destroys main building
* Debris dumped in vacant tot
Pesticides manufactured on site
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Superfund At Work • Woodbury Chemical Co. Site, Commerce City, Colorado
Spring 1994
Pesticides Taint Soil and Surface Water in
Adams County
EPA Begins Cleanup under
Superfund
Woodbury Chemical was just
one of hundreds of industrial
problem sites that had gained
national attention during the late
1970s. In 1980, Congress enacted
the Comprehensive Environmen-
tal Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act, which established
the "Superfund" cleanup pro-
gram. Having no legislative
authority themselves, the states
identified their worst sites for
inclusion on EPA's National
Priorities List (NFL). The
Woodbury Chemical site was
nominated by the State of Colo-
rado and then included on the
NPLinl983.
To prevent public access and to
help stabilize the site, EPA posted
warning signs, installed a fence
around the property, and graded
the soil to prevent additional
runoff from rain and snowmelt.
In 1985, EPA completed studies
confirming high levels of pesti-
cides and heavy metals within the
rubble piles from the 1965 fire and
in lower concentrations in the soil.
Based on these findings, EPA
recommended removing the
contaminants to a permitted
incinerator for destruction. Soil
with lower levels of contamination
r
EPA expands site boundaries
Responsible parties agree to perform studies on Woodbury property
EPA selects remedy for entire site
r
for cleanup, reimburse costs
••Cleanup begins
• Responsible parties pay for past costs
/•Cleanup and final
inspection completed
> EPA deletes
site from NPL
1986 1987
1989 1990 1991 1992 1993
and the ash from incineration
would be disposed of at an EPA-
approved facility.
Before the remedy was carried
out, EPA discovered that contami-
nated surface water had polluted a
significant amount of additional
soil west of the vacant lot where
Woodbury Chemical operated.
EPA expanded the site boundaries
in 1986 to include the Woodbury
property and a second vacant lot
in the cleanup.
McKesson Chemical Company
had purchased the Woodbury
property in 1971, and in 1987
signed an Administrative Order
on Consent to study the extent of
contamination for the expanded
site boundary. The community
approved of the plan to incinerate
the hazardous wastes and landfill
the remaining materials.
Remedial Work Begins
In 1990, McKesson Chemical
Company and Farmland Indus-
tries, a former property owner,
signed a Consent Decree to clean
up the entire Woodbury Chemical
site and to reimburse EPA for
earlier costs. Another former
property owner, Maytag, also
agreed to pay a portion of EPA's
costs.
With EPA monitoring activities,
the remedial work began in June
1991 and included excavation and
incineration of soil and debris.
Less contaminated soil and rubble,
including train rails and ties, were
disposed of at a permitted facility.
The site buildings were demol-
ished and concrete foundation and
footings removed. Site air and
continued on page 4
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Superfund At Work • Woodbury Chemical Co. Site, Commerce City, Colorado • Spring 1994 <
continued from page 3
ground water were monitored to
safeguard against the spread of
contamination during cleanup
activities.
Following excavation, the site
was backfilled with clean soil and
seeded with native grasses. EPA
and Colorado State officials made
a final inspection of the site in
June 1992, about one year after
cleanup began. Final tests con-
firm that the site no longer poses
an environmental threat and can
be redeveloped without restric-
tions. Because of the thorough-
ness of the remedy, neither a five-
year review nor any operation
and maintenance activities were
required.
In March 1993, the site was
deleted from the National Priori-
ties List. The Superfund sign was
removed during a special cer-
emony attended by EPA, state
and local officials, environmental
groups, and area residents.
EPA Informs and Protects Residents
EPA undertook an aggressive traffic through neighborhoods.
community relations program
for residents living near the
Woodbury Chemical site. The
Community Relations Coordi-
nators and the Remedial Project
Manager for the site held many
program included a door-to-door informal meetings with local
outreach effort and distribution of
bi-monthly fact sheets in English
and Spanish.
Translators attended public
meetings and encouraged area
residents to review and comment
on EPA's selection of remedy and cient cleanup of the site.
cleanup criteria. Proposed routes
that trucks would take to trans-
port contaminated materials off
site were designed to prevent
residents and coordinated with
county health departments and
the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
Community and environmental
groups expressed their support
and praise for the safe and effi-
Success at
Woodbtuy
Chemical
EPA supervised the fast and
efficient removal of pesticides,
heavy metals, and organic
compounds from an old
industrial plant and an adja-
cent vacant lot. Current and
former property owners paid
$15 million to clean up the site
and EPA recovered 99.5% of
investigation and oversight
costs.
Extensive outreach efforts
informed local residents of the
site's history, precautions to
take, and progress made in
restoring the site. The Wood-
bury Chemical property is
now safe for economic redevel-
opment with unrestricted use.
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