•: -x : x Xvw Petro Processors, Inc. SUPERFUND SITE UPDATE November 10, 1994 PRcrt^- An EPA Update on Activities at the Petro Processors, Inc. Superfund site East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana Site Activities The following schedule outlines activities for completion and start-up operations of the new treatment facility: Construction of treatment facilities - Completed June 2, 1994. Refractory Cure of incinerator - Completed June 17,1994. This "curing" period involved heating up the refractory to temperatures necessary for testing and operations at a later date. Review and Agencies' Approval of Compliance Test Plan for Incineration of fumes from the Air Strippers - Completed June 3,1994. The Compliance Test was conducted according to this plan to demonstrate the operational capability of the incinerator under worst case conditions for the fume mode operation. PRPs' submit Trial Burn Plan for Incineration of liquids recovered from the ground water - Completed June 6,1994. The Trial Burn demonstrates the incinerator functions under worst case conditions. Compliance Test for fume mode operation of incinerator - Completed July 29,1994. EPA and LDEQ complete review of Trial Burn Plan - Completed September, 1994. EPA and LDEQ Trial Burn Plan Approval - Completed October, 1994. Trial burn for liquid mode operation of incinerator - Scheduled for November 7 - November 11,1994. Site Background The Petro Processors, Inc. (PPI) site is composed of two disposal areas, known as Scenic Highway and Brooklawn, covering an area of 62 acres. Petro Processors, Inc. received waste from a number of This Site Update Will Tell You About: • The progress and current status of site activities; • The background of the MM—— • Where to obtain more information about the site. industries from 1961 through 1980. Chlorinated hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), heavy metals and oils contaminate the ground water, soil, and surface water. The potentially responsible parties (PRPs), signed a Consent Decree in 1984 to investigate, design and implement remedial programs. ------- Site Location Area #/: Scenic Highway Site, Area #2: Brooklawn Site, about 2 just west of US Highway 61 and miles west, southwest of Scenic north of intersection of Scenic Site. Highway 964. The PRPs formed a company named NPC Services, Inc., (NPC) to represent the various PRP companies in remediating the site and in coordination efforts with federal and state agencies. NPC is responsible for conducting all remedial activities at the site. Initial studies on the site were completed in 1986, with additional studies continuing as the remedy is implemented. A remedial action for the site began in the summer of 1987 and was to include excavating wastes, contaminated soils and debris from the Brooklawn and Scenic Highway areas, and from parts of Bayou Baton Rouge, with all to be placed in a special waste vault near the site. Waste excavation and stabilization activities at the site conducted in early December 1987 resulted in air emission problems. All waste handling activities ceased in December 1987, and remained shut down while EPA and PRP company representatives evaluated waste handling operations needed to eliminate the air emission problems. Storm water treatment facilities were completed in the fall of 1987. Site support facilities, roads, bridges, levees are being built as needed. The Consent Decree was amended in August 1989 to provide for more aggressive hydraulic containment and recovery of contamination. The revised groundwater containment and recovery remedy included the additional recovery of liquid organics in the former pit areas. The groundwater remedy included containing the migration of contaminated groundwater by pumping and removing free phase organic chemicals known as non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) from the recovered groundwater. Contaminated groundwater has been treated on-site and discharged in accordance with a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit, which is issued by EPA. To date, over 100 recovery wells and 98 sumps have been installed at the Brooklawn site. An interim recovery facility has been in operation since 1990 and the information obtained was utilized for the design and construction of a full scale recovery facility to handle both Brooklawn and Scenic Highway contaminated groundwater. NPC is currently operating the interim recovery system which actively removes non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) from the groundwater. The contaminated groundwater is being treated via carbon adsorption and the NAPLs recovered are stored 2 i n ¦¦ »*¦- - • < ------- Stack Emissions Treatment Process Flow Diagram Figure 1 onsite for later treatment at the new onsite facility. EPA and LDEQ have completed review of the PRPs' design for the liquid treatment and disposal facility. The new system has been designed to meet more stringent water quality standards required by the most recently issued NPDES permit. The new system includes a series of air strippers followed by carbon adsorption. Additionally, the facility includes an onsite incinerator to burn hazardous organic vapors from the air stripper and the NAPLs that have been separated from the recovered groundwater. The system facility is presented conceptually in Figure 1 on page 3 of this update. The Incineration Process Incineration is a thermal process whereby the hazardous materials are reduced to carbon dioxide. Incineration onsite was one of three options originally provided in the 1984 Consent Decree for handling NAPLs recovered from the ground water. The first option was abandoned in 1987 when waste material could not be excavated, stabilized, and placed in an onsite landfill. The second option was utilized, off-site disposal at a commercial facility,until storage capacity onsite was constructed as part of the LTADS project. Continuing with the second option would not be technically practical given the need for a fume incinerator as part of the integrated treatment facility now required to meet NPDES permit requirements. The incinerator has monitors that continuously display the status of the process to ensure that operational parameters are within allowable Federal and State standards. Representatives from EPA and LDEQ will make periodic inspections to review operations and evaluate progress to ensure proper functioning of the incinerator. One of the main ways EPA ensures that the incinerator operates within required parameters is by conducting a trial burn. A trial burn 3 ------- demonstrates that the incinerator is capable of four (4) nines, ie. 99.99%, Destruction and Removal Efficiency (DRE). DRE is a measurement of the effectiveness of the combustion process which is required to be demonstrated during a trial bum; EPA and LDEQ use this information to evaluate the overall combustion process. Trial burn certification tests are conducted under worst case, rather than "ideal," operating conditions. For example, the incinerator may not be operated with a feed rate greater than that used during the trial burn, nor may the firing temperature be reduced below that used during the trial burn. Limits on key operating parameters (such as temperatures and pressures) that directly control the operation of the incinerator will be set based upon performance during the DRE certification tests. These key parameters can be measured continuously and instantaneously. Maintaining conformance with these parameters, plus compliance with all the other requirements established for the incinerator, ensures that the emissions will present no danger to human health or the environment throughout the remediation. Technical Assistance Grant The Coalition for Community Action has been awarded a Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) to hire a technical advisor for independent interpretation of the detailed technical information about this site. If you would like information about this group, contact Mary McCastle at (504) 775-9607. Information Resources Copies of documents related to the Petro Processors, Inc. Superfund site are available at the following information repositories: Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality 7920 Bluebonnet, 4 th floor Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70809 (504) 765-0487 Alsen Community Center 393 Old Rafe Mayer Road Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70801 (504) 775-8584 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6 12th Floor Library 1445 Ross Avenue Dallas, Texas 75202-2733 (214) 655-6427, or (214) 655-6424 4 ------- Additional Information If you have any questions about the Petio Processors, Inc. Superfund site, please contact: Cynthia Kaleri Remedial Project Manager U.S. EPA (6H-EA) 1445 Ross Avenue Dallas, Texas 75202-2733 (214) 665-6772 or 1-800-533-3508 David Weeks Remedial Project Manager U.S. EPA (6H-EA) 1445 Ross Avenue Dallas, Texas 75202-2733 (214) 665-6768 or 1-800-533-3508 Tom Stafford Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) Inactive and Abandoned Sites Div. 7920 Bluebonnet Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70809 (504)765-0487 For more information on the public involvement process, please contact: Melanie Ontiveros Lillard Community Relations Coordinator U.S. EPA (6H-MC) 1445 Ross Avenue Dallas, Texas 75202-2733 (214) 665-2294 or 1-800-533-3508 Tammy Guillotte Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) Inactive and Abandoned Sites Div. 7920 Bluebonnet Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70809 (504)765-0487 o^r.. All media inquiries should be directed to Dave Bary, EPA Region 6 Press Officer (214) 655-2200. If you did not receive this fact sheet by mail and wish to be placed on the mailing list for the Petro Processors , Inc. Superfund site, please fill out and mail this coupon to: Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 Community Relations (6H-MQ 1445 Ross Avenue, Suite 1200 Dallas, Texas 75202-2733 NAME AFFILIATION STREET CITY, STATE & ZIP DAYTIME PHONE NUMBER 5 ------- Site Location Area #J: Scenic Highway Site, just west of US Highway 61 and north of intersection of Scenic Highway 964. t Area #2 Brooklawn Site Petro Processors Area #2: Brooklawn Site, about 2 miles west, southwest of Scenic Site. SEPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 (6H-MC) 1445 Ross Avenue Dallas, Texas 75202 First-Class Mail Postage and Fees Paid EPA Permit No. G-35 Petro Processors, Inc. Superfund Site Update i n ------- |