U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                   Office of Inspector General

                   At   a   Glance
                                                            11-P-0433
                                                         Augusts, 2011
                                                                  Catalyst for Improving the Environment

Why We Did This Review
We initiated this evaluation to
assess whether the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), Office of
Inspector General, can use
hyperspectral imaging data as a
feasible oversight tool to assess
the effectiveness of prior
Superfund remediations, or to
target areas for assessment.

Background

The Office of Inspector General
entered into an interagency
agreement with the U.S.
Geological Survey, Eastern
Geographic Science Center, to
develop and test hyperspectral
remote sensing technologies for
the detection of fugitive and
residual contamination at
deleted Superfund waste sites.
Subsequently, the U.S.
Geological Survey entered into
an interagency agreement with
the U.S. Air Force Civil Air
Patrol to use its remote sensing
system to collect hyperspectral
imagery at five deleted former
National Priorities List sites in
Maryland and Virginia.

For further information,
contact our Office of
Congressional, Public Affairs and
Management at (202) 566-2391.

The full report is at:
www.epa.qov/oiq/reports/20117
20110803-11-P-0433.pdf
Observed Conditions at Five Deleted
Superfund Sites
 What We Found
Conditions at two of the five sites we visited in EPA Region 3, which had been
remediated and deleted from the National Priorities List, may warrant additional
attention from EPA. Hyperspectral imaging data, on-site testing, and/or soil
samples revealed issues at the Middletown Road Dump site in Annapolis,
Maryland, and the Matthews Electroplating site in Roanoke County, Virginia.
We do not believe conditions at the other three sites visited warrant additional
consideration from EPA.

The Middletown Road Dump site, formerly a dump for construction waste, was
found to have  expanded in size since EPA's latest Five-Year Review.
Hyperspectral imaging data identified an anomaly that proved to be leachate
coming from the landfill. Our on-site testing also indicated hydrocarbons
pooling in surface waters, and soil samples collected at the site contained
arsenic, chromium, mercury, and antimony at levels exceeding established
residential risk-based concentrations.

The Matthews Electroplating site, formerly a chrome-plating operation,
contained waste metal, empty drums, and containers. Soil samples taken at the
site contained  arsenic, nickel, and antimony at levels exceeding EPA's
established risk-based concentrations for residential areas. We also observed
that the current landowner had started building a residence on the site.

We did not make any conclusions regarding potential health risks or the
effectiveness of EPA's prior remediation efforts, or the usefulness of
hyperspectral imaging data as an oversight tool. We are presenting our results in
this early warning report so Region 3 can review the information on the sites
and take further action if appropriate. Additional work is ongoing to assess the
usefulness of remote sensing technology as an OIG oversight tool.
 What We Recommend
We recommend that EPA Region 3's Office of Superfund Site Remediation add
the information in this report to the appropriate site-specific case files and assess
whether any additional action is warranted for the Matthews Electroplating and
Middletown Road Dump sites. The Agency agreed with our recommendations,
stating that it has added the information to the case files and requested more
detailed sampling information to assist it in evaluating the two deleted sites. The
region's ongoing and planned actions meet the intent of our recommendations.

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