United States Environmental Protection Agency National Priorities List (NPL) ** *NPL Site *** OLEM/OSRTI Washington, DC 20460 March 2024 EXIDE BATON ROUGE Baton Rouge, Louisiana East Baton Rouge Parish (?) Site Location: Exide Baton Rouge is located at 2400 Brooklawn Drive in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. This site encompasses 33 acres located in an industrial area that borders the Baton Rouge Bayou, which leads to the Mississippi River. Site History: The site is a former secondary lead smelter and refinery that operated from 1969-2020. In 2020, Exide Technologies LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In April 2023, settlement funds were exhausted, and operations ceased. There are unlined waste piles, open surface impoundments, and surficial contamination of on-site soils that contribute to large discharges of contaminated surface and groundwater. A leachate collection system is in place to collect these discharges that produce up to 10,000 gallons per day of leachate that is contaminated with heavy metals. This leachate is collected and treated using an onsite wastewater treatment system before being discharged to the adjacent bayou. .a. Site Contamination/Contaminants: High concentrations of arsenic, antimony, lead, manganese, and zinc have been found in the groundwater and soils on site. Antimony, lead, and manganese have been found in the sediments within the Baton Rouge Bayou. .a. Potential Impacts on Surrounding Community/Environment: An uncontrolled release of heavy metal contaminated water into the Baton Rouge Bayou could have ecological effects on the adjacent wetlands and the bayou which ultimately leads to the Mississippi River. ^ Response Activities (to date): EPA temporarily took over the operation of the wastewater treatment plant on April 11, 2023. Need for NPL Listing: The state of Louisiana referred the site to the EPA to avoid any interruption in the continued operation of the wastewater treatment system. Other federal and state cleanup programs were evaluated but are not viable at this time. The EPA received a letter of support for placing this site on the NPL from the state of Louisiana. [The description of the site (release) is based on information available at the time the site was evaluated with the HRS. The description may change as additional information is gathered on the sources and extent of contamination. See 56 FR 5600, February 11, 1991, or subsequent FR notices.] For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on the Internet at https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/index.asp or by telephone at 1-800-CDC-INFO or 1-800-232-4636. ------- |