Update on activities at the Northwest Pipe and Casing/Hail Processing
Company Superfund Site.
Recent Activities at the Site
Since our last Fact Sheet in May 1997 the
following activities have been completed.
They are discussed in more detail starting
on page two of this fact sheet.
- Risk Study Complete. The EPA study of
the potential risks to people and the
environment from the contaminants at the
site, called the Risk Assessment, has
been completed.
- Extent of Contamination Determined.
The EPA comprehensive investigation of
the nature and extent of the
contamination at the site (called the
Remedial Investigation, or Rl) has been
completed.
- Tanks and Debris Removed. Several
actions have been taken to reduce risks
to people and the environment posed by
the site.
- Settlements with Responsible Parties
Finalized. EPA has settled with several
responsible parties. The settlements
include payments that will be used to pay
part of the costs of site cleanup.
- Site Name Modified. The name of the
site has been modified.
More details about these activities are
provided starting on page 2.
Background and Brief History of the Site
The Northwest Pipe and Casing/Hall Processing
Company Site is the former location of pipe manufacturing
and coating activities conducted from the mid-1950s up to
1986. It is located between Lawnfield and Mather Roads,
in a light-industrial area of Clackamas, Oregon. The 53
acre site consists of three properties owned by Wayne
Hall Jr., Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT)
and Northwest Development Company (NDC).
The southern part of the site was used as a pipe coating
facility by Hall Processing Company (HPC) from 1956 to
1978. Activities included sandblasting pipes with steel
shot, spraying them with primer, and coating them with a
heated material containing coal tar. Waste materials from
these activities were buried on site. In 1978, HPC ceased
operations and the facility was leased to Northwest Pipe
and Casing (NWPC) which continued to operate the pipe
coating facility until 1985.
NWPC manufactured pipe on the northern part of the site
between 1966 and 1985. In 1985 NWPC ceased
operations and filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. NWPC
sold a portion of the northern parcel to the ODOT and
another portion to NDC. NWPC's bankruptcy
reorganization plan was approved in December 1986.
The ODOT and NDC properties have been built upon and
paved over, so the potential for people to contact the
buried contaminated materials has been significantly
reduced. Groundwater beneath these properties is being
monitored.
Initial EPA studies indicated that soil and groundwater at
the site are contaminated with volatile organic compounds
associated with solvents, polycyclic hydrocarbons
associated with coal tar and polychlorinated biphenyl,
often used in electrical capacitors and transformers and
potentially in lubricating oils. EPA placed the Northwest
Pipe and Casing/Hall Processing Company site on the
National Priorities List (NPL) of Superfund sites on
October 14, 1992.
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Northwest Pipe and Casing / Hall Processing Company - Page 2
Potential Risk to People and the
Environment Evaluated.
EPA evaluated potential adverse effects to
people and the environment from the
contaminants at the site.
• Risks to People. Both cancer and non-
cancer risks were evaluated. In particular
the evaluation looks at these types of
people:
- transients that currently use the site;
- future on-site workers; and
- future off-site residents.
• Ecological Risks. The environmental
assessment evaluated potential threats
from site contaminants to terrestrial
(mammals, birds and plants) and aquatic
organisms (fish and benthos). It includes
evaluation of potential impacts on
threatened or endangered species.
A copy of the Risk Assessment will be
available in the site repository after
May 1,1999. The Risk Assessment will
also be discussed in more detail in the
Proposed Plan. See the "For More
Information" section at the end of this fact
sheet for information about the site
repository.
Remedial Investigation Completed.
In 1998 EPA completed a comprehensive
investigation of the nature and extent of
contamination at and in the vicinity of the
site.
More than 700 samples of soil,
groundwater, surface water and surface
water sediments were collected and
analyzed for potential contaminants. Three
main burial areas, containing coal tar,
wood, plastic and metal were confirmed.
A summary of the contamination at the site
follows:
Soils.
The soil underlying and surrounding the former
pipe coating plant buildings and soil in other areas
of the site were determined to be contaminated
with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs),
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and to a lesser
extent volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Groundwater.
Primary contaminants detected in Groundwater at
the site were chlorinated solvents - including
perchloroethene (PCE), trichloroethene (TCE) and
vinyl chloride.
Surface Water and Sediment.
Few site-related contaminants were detected in
surface water in the drainage channels adjacent to
or down gradient of the site. Sediments in the
drainage channels generally contained low levels
of PCBs and PAHs.
The nature and extent of the contamination will
also be discussed in more detail in the Proposed
Northwest Pipe and Casing/Hall
Processing Company Location Map
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Northwest Pipe and Casing / Hall Processing Company - Page 3
Plan.
The full results of the Remedial
Investigation, which includes further detail
on the contaminants is available at the site
repository. See the "For More Information"
section at the end of this fact sheet for
information about the site repository.
Underground Storage Tanks
Removed.
In late 1998, two underground storage
tanks were removed from the site. The first
was an empty 12,000-gallon capacity tank
formerly used to store diesel fuel. The
second was a 1,000-gallon capacity tank
that still contained about 120 gallons of
gasoline and water.
Approximately 77 tons of petroleum-
contaminated soil were also removed from
the two tank pits and decontaminated at an
approved off-site facility.
Soil and groundwater samples collected in
the area after the removal confirmed that
the cleanup of diesel and gasoline from
these tanks was successful. Since the
cleanup dealt primarily with petroleum
contamination more work may be needed at
these locations to cleanup other types of
contaminants during the overall cleanup.
Debris Removed.
In the spring of 1997, approximately 230
tons of surface debris consisting of scrap
metal, coal tar-filled metal tubs, wood
debris, coal tar chunks, automobile tires
and car batteries were removed from the
site and recycled or disposed of. Removal
of these materials eliminated the potential
that trespassers and transients might be
exposed to these potentially hazardous
materials.
Settlements with Responsible
Parties Finalized.
Consent decrees with four responsible
parties for the Northwest Pipe and Casing/Hall
Processing Site Company for partial payment of
response costs were finalized in federal courts in
Portland, Oregon in 1997 and 1998. The
settlement decrees are with:
- Northwest Pipe and Casing Company;
- Wayne C. Hall, Jr.;
- Oregon Department of Transportation; and
- Northwest Development Company.
Upcoming Activities
This summer EPA will ask for public comments on
the proposed plan for the Northwest Pipe and
Casing/Hall Processing Company Superfund Site.
The plan will present and discuss several cleanup
options EPA considered for the site and describe
EPA's preferred option.
The proposed plan, supporting documents and
other information about EPA's work at the site will
be made available at the site repository. Details
Anyone on EPA's Northwest Pipe and Casing / Hall
Processing Company mailing list will be sent
information on how to comment on the proposed
plan and will be sent information about the plan.
The comment period for the proposed plan will also
be announced through ads in local newspapers.
These settlements provide for cash payments and
an interest-bearing escrow deposit, together
valued at more than $4.5 million, to be used for site
cleanup. Some of these funds will be available to
the Federal Natural Resource Trustees for use, if
needed, in mitigation of any natural resources
damages.
Site Named Modified.
In 1997, the name of the site was changed to
Northwest Pipe and Casing/Hall Process
Company. The name change reflected EPA's
determination that both Hall Process Company and
Northwest Pipe and Casing Company were
principal operators of pipe coating facilities at the
site and that activities of both companies likely
contributed to the site's contamination.
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Northwest Pipe and Casing / Hall Processing Company - Page 4
about the site repository can be found in
the "For More Information" section at the
end of this fact sheet.
Coordination with Other Projects
EPA is continuing to coordinate its site-
related activities with other parties
conducting activities in the vicinity of the
site.
They include:
S the Oregon Department of
Transportation's Sunrise Corridor
Project;
S the Clackamas County Water
Department (which is considering
stormwater management projects); and
S Environmental investigations by nearby
For More Information
EPA has established a Site Information Repository for the Northwest Pipe and Casing / Hall Processing
Company Site at the Clackamas Corner Branch of the Clackamas County Library located at:
11750 SE 82nd Avenue, Suite D. It is at the corner of the Clackamas Town Center Mall parking lot. You
may review information about EPA's Superfund Program and about the Northwest Pipe and Casing Site at
the repository. For additional information please call:
Alan Goodman, EPA Project Manager in Portland 503 326-3685
E-Mail Address: Goodman.Al@epa.gov
-OR-
USEPA toll free at 1 800 424-4372
Ask the attendant to transfer your call to:
Robert Drake, Community Relations Coordinator. .. . 206 553-4803
E-Mail Address: Drake.Robert@epa.gov
TDD Line 206 553-1698
Additional services can be made available on request to persons with disabilities.
Visit the EPA Region 10 Internet Home Page athttp://WWW.EPA.GOV/RAOEARJHIRAO.HTML
property owners.
What's Next?
Presently, EPA is evaluating possible
cleanup technologies and methods, a
process commonly called a Feasibility
Study (FS). At the conclusion of the FS,
EPA will propose a preferred cleanup plan,
called the Proposed Plan. The Proposed
Plan will provide detailed information about
the preferred cleanup options and other
alternatives considered. A public review of
the Proposed Plan will be held, including
the opportunity for the public to review the
detailed results of the site investigation,
risk assessment and other related work.
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&EPA
Region 10
Community Relations and Outreach
1200 Sixth Avenue, ECO-081
Seattle, Washington 98101
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Northwest Pipe and Casing/Hall Properties Company
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