PRELIMINARY PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT
INDUSTRIAL WASTE PROCESSING
PINEDALE, FRESNO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI) Search Information:
We conducted a search of the EPA Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI) for the site and local area for the years 1987, 1988, and 1989 (the years for which TRI data were available on-line at the time this preliminary health assessment was written.) The TRI information contains information voluntarily submitted to the EPA on estimated annual releases of toxic chemicals to the environment from active industrial facilities. The 1987, 1988, 1989 TRI did not contain information on toxic chemical releases in the site area.
The IWP site contained a variety of hazardous materials that had been used in the businesses of recycling solvents, recovering lead and zinc from solder flux, reclaiming glycols from petroleum residues, distributing products for Ashland oil, and storing chemicals. Figure 3 is a schematic showing the location of major groups of chemicals on the site and the places where soil borings were made to determine if contaminants had migrated into subsurface soil. The major hazardous substances identified by the EPA Emergency Response Team were:
- Piles of lead solder flux and torn asbestos bags were stored on the ground and covered with plastic.
- Glycols and reclaimed solvents were stored in open and leaking drums and tanks.
- Drums containing a wide variety of chemicals were located throughout the site.
The chemicals included:
- VOCs such as TCE, PCE, DCE, TCA, PCA, methylene chloride, and Freon;
- triethylene glycol, ethylene glycol ether, and polyglycol;
- solvents such as xylene, isopropanol, petroleum naptha, toluene, and methyl isobutyl ketone;
- bases such as ammonium hydroxide, monoethanolamine, and zinc ammonium phosphate (flux);
- acids such as hydrochloric acid, acetic acid, and phosphoric acid;
- oxidizing agents such as potassium permanganate and selenium dioxide.
There were also many unlabeled drums and containers whose contents were not identified.
Stained soil and pools of oily liquid indicated that chemicals had leaked or had been spilled onto the soil. In order to characterize the extent of soil contamination, the EPA Emergency Response Team made 17 borings down to a depth of 78 inches below the surface soil on the 20,000 square foot site. Figure 3, borings B-01 to B-18, shows the location of the borings. Surface soil showed contamination by lead, chromium, and VOCs such as TCE, PCE, DCE, PCA and TCA. Table 1 shows the range of concentrations of the major contaminants at the ground surface and at 12 inches, 24 inches, and 78 inches below the surface. VOC concentrations ranged from less than 1 milligram/kilogram (ppm) to about 80 mg/kg at 24 inches below the surface. VOCs were the only major class of contaminants detected below the surface.
|Depth of Boring (inches)|
** Contaminant detected only at this depth in one sample.
* Contaminant detected at this depth in one sample.
All concentrations are in mg/kg.
Soil sample (17 borings) were collected from a 100' x 200' area.
Soil sampling survey was conducted by EPA Emergency Response Team, July 1988.
A soil gas survey (Table 2) was conducted at 112 locations on the properties bordered by Ingram Avenue on the east, Herndon Avenue on the south, North Harrison Street on the west and the northern edge of the Kepco Dry Dump (Weston, 1989). This is the area described in "IWP On-Site Contaminants" and "Adjoining Properties On-Site Contaminants". Nine locations were on and near the IWP site itself. All successful samples showed the presence of VOC contamination at depths of four to ten inches. The concentration range for VOCs are given in Table 3.
|Trichloroethylene||0.40 - 11.76||0.09 - 2,319|
|Tetrachloroethylene||0.69 - 40.71||0.18 - 9.97|
|1,1-Dichloroethene||1.66 - 74.25||0.34 - 1,990|
|1,2-Dichloroethene||0.22 - 19.64||0.21 - 38.00|
|1,1,1-Trichloroethane||1.73 - 178.30||0.23 - 12,685|
|1,1-Dichloroethane||0.36 - 5.42||0.16 - 56.77|
|Benzene||0.28 - 0.34||0.12 - 0.49|
|Toluene||ND||0.25 - 38.03|
|Total Freon||0.17 - 162.00||0.19 - 2.43|
|Total Hydrocarbons||1.37 - 2.44||1.81 - 32.69|
All values are in parts per billion (ppb).
IWP samples taken at a depth of 3-10 feet; samples from adjoining properties taken at a depth of 2.5-5 feet.
Data obtained from Soil-Gas Survey Pinedale Area Groundwater Site, Pinedale, California. March 27-31 and April 1, 1989.
|Chemical||Concentration Range (ppb)b|
|TCE||0.4 to 21|
|TCA||1.8 to 178|
|PCE||0.7 to 25|
|1,1-DCE||1.7 to 75|
|1,1-DCA||0.4 to 5.4|
|1,2-DCA||0.2 to 20|
|Total hydrocarbons||1.4 - 2.4|
|Freon||0.2 to 42|
a Data obtained from Westin, "Soil-Gas Survey, Pinedale
Area Groundwater Site, Pinedale, CA, 1989
b Sampling was performed March 27 - April 1, 1989
Air monitoring was done under the direction of a Federal On-Scene Coordinator when the drums and other chemical debris were removed from the IWP site by the EPA Emergency Response Team. Air monitoring was done before, during, and after the emergency clean-up of the site (Dan Shane, Federal On-Site Coordinator, EPA, Personal Communication, August, 1990). The monitoring showed 0.002 asbestos fibers/cubic centimeter of air, and about 4.8 nanograms of lead/liter of air. VOCs were not present (Ecology and Environment, Technical Direction Document, from Dan Shane, August, 1990).
The IWP site contains an abandoned supply well which anecdotal evidence indicates was used to dispose of hazardous wastes when the IWP site was operational (Jacqueline Spiszman, Project Leader, DTSC, Region 1, Personal Communication, August, 1990). A recent analysis of the water in the supply well produced non-detect levels for priority pollutants and metals, except for zinc, which was present at 0.05 mg/l. (Jacqueline Spiszman, DTSC, Region 1, Personal Communication, August, 1990).
A number of adjoining properties (see Figure 2) are included in the On-Site Contaminants Section because it is not possible at this time to determine the origin of the off-site groundwater contamination. IWP and the adjoining properties are being concurrently investigated to determine 1) if IWP and the adjoining properties all contributed to the identified off-site groundwater contamination, 2) if surface soil on the adjoining properties has been contaminated via contaminant migration from the IWP site, or 3) if contamination has been independently generated on IWP and adjoining properties.
From 1941-1947, the property immediately adjoining IWP on the east was the U.S. Army Camp Pinedale. A motor pool, a laundromat and cleaners, and a landfill are believed to have been located somewhere on the property. Since 1947, a cotton ginning, baling, and shipping business at 800 West Herndon Avenue has occupied the greatest portion of the former Camp Pinedale. Hazardous wastes currently believed to be generated at this adjoining property to the east include waste oil, spent acid, and a solvent degreaser, primarily from the equipment maintenance operation. This business once used underground storage tanks for fuel and waste oil, but all tanks have been removed in compliance with county requirements. Determination of on-site soil contamination on this property is underway. The soil gas survey detected TCE concentrations up to 2,319 ppb and TCA concentrations up to 12,685 ppb in two of the 100 probes (Weston, 1989), as shown in Table 2.
The Pinedale Sewage Treatment Plant at the north end of Harrison Avenue south of the San Joaquin River is also being investigated. The plant was the source of chemical odors during operation, but soil gas sampling by the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) did not indicate the presence of any organic vapors. The RWQCB believes that there may have been another sewage treatment plant in the area, but little information is known about this other plant (Radian Corp, Pinedale Area Groundwater Investigation: Preliminary Assessment, 1989).
Kepco Dry Dump/Camp Pinedale Disposal Site at the northeast corner of the property where the cotton processing property is located received construction debris and some municipal garbage from the Pinedale area. The U.S. Army Camp Pinedale may have been located on the property. A RWQCB soil gas survey of the Kepco site did not detect VOC vapors in the soil.
The Vendo Company also occupies a portion of the former Camp Pinedale to the east of the IWP site. The Vendo Company is a manufacturer of vending machines and has historically generated a variety of hazardous wastes including metals (zinc and chromium), acids, caustics, paint, waste oil and solvents (TCE, PCE, and 1,1,1-TCA). Geomatrix, Vendo's contractor, analyzed soil from seven borings on the Vendo property in November 1988 to investigate metal and VOC contamination (Geomatrix, 1989). The metals arsenic, barium, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, nickel, vanadium, and zinc have been detected at depths of 21 feet below the surface in a location where metal waste was known to have been generated. The concentrations were less than or similar to those found in a sample designated "background" which was collected east of a former drainage ditch on the property by the DTSC on September 6, 1988. The metal concentrations were within a range of average values for Western U.S. Soils (U.S. Geologic Survey, 1984).
The metal concentrations on the Vendo property were compared to the values designated as Total Threshold Limit Concentrations (TTLC) in Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations and were noted to be considerably less than these values. However, it should be noted that TTLC values are intended only to indicate when contamination in excavated waste soil is considered to be acutely hazardous by ingestion or inhalation during transportation of the soil to a disposal site. TTLC values are not intended to indicate "safe" concentrations or "clean-up" levels for soils in place. Furthermore, for waste soil to be considered nonhazardous, and disposed of in a sanitary landfill rather than at a hazardous waste facility, the concentration extracted by citric acid in the Waste Extraction Test (WET) test must also be less than Soluble Threshold Limit Criteria (STLC) values. There is no indication that a WET test was performed on these soil samples. Therefore, use of Title 22 TTLC values is not an appropriate comparison.
VOCs were also detected in low concentrations in these borings. TCE was detected at concentrations up to 2.5 mg/kg (ppm) in boring S-4 at a depth of 50 feet (Geomatrix, January 1989). Other contaminants such as ethyl benzene (33 mg/kg or ppm), toluene (13 ppm), xylene (69 ppm), total hydrocarbons (9,031 ppm) and lead (615 ppm) were detected in soil boring S-6.
Monitoring wells have been installed on the Vendo property. Sampling results are shown in Table 4. A concentration of 23,000 ppb TCE was found in monitoring well MW-7. Other VOCs (e.g., 1,1-DCE, 1,1,1-TCA, trans-1,2-DCE, and chloroform) are present at low levels and, except for PCE, did not exceed the MCLs. The highest inorganic metal concentrations detected on the Vendo property in well number 7 were 146 ppb chromium (MCL is 50 ppb), 47 ppb arsenic (MCL is 50 ppb), and 20 ppb zinc (MCL is 5000 ppb) (Geomatrix Consultants, Groundwater Monitoring Results, the Vendo Company Facility, September/October, 1989).
Preliminary groundwater data released by BSK and Associates, geotechnical consultants for the adjoining cotton-processing property to the east, show a maximum TCE concentration of 2400 ppb at MW-6S near Building 11 (Table 4). This building is 400 feet from PCWD-3 where TCE contamination was first discovered. Eight other monitoring wells around Buildings #3, 4, 5, 7, and 8 have TCE concentrations ranging from 840 ppb (MW-11S) to 14,000 ppb (MW-8S). A schematic is shown in Figure 4.
a) Data obtained from BSK & Associates laboratory results
for Geomatrix sampling of monitoring wells, May 1990.
MW-1 to Well-7 are located on the Vendo Property.
MW-1S to MW-203D are located on the cotton processing facility property.
b) Results in lg/L = ppb.
c) Blank spaces indicate chemical was not detected.
PCE = perchloroethylene
TCA = trichloroethane
TCE = trichloroethylene
trans-1,2-DCE = trans-1,2-dichloroethylene
DCE = dichloroethylene
Below Fresno is the Fresno County Aquifer, a sole source aquifer designated by the EPA under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Approximately 90 wells draw water from this aquifer. They are part of a distribution system that supplies over 300,000 residents. The distribution system consists of City of Fresno wells, Pinedale County Water District wells, Fresno County Waterworks, and Bakman Water District wells.
Fresno County Waterworks, City of Fresno, and the Pinedale County Water District have about 83 wells within three miles of the IWP site. Bakman has no wells within 3 miles and it serves the southeast part of Fresno.
A plume of VOC contamination (primarily TCE and PCE) has been identified in the groundwater from which municipal wells draw water. The plume is still not defined, but it appears to extend at least 1.7 miles south from its apparent origin in the industrial area where IWP and the adjoining properties are located. There are five municipal wells closed due to TCE contamination:
|Well||Highest TCE Concentration (ppb)|
|Pinedale County Water District|
|Fresno County Waterworks District|
|Fresno City Water District|
Other municipal wells have been closed due to contamination by chemicals other than TCE, or other chemicals in addition to TCE, or due to mechanical failure. These are:
- Well D21-2 was closed when the nitrate concentration exceeded the MCL;
- D25-2 was closed when iron and TCE exceeded the MCL;
- D21-3 was closed due to mechanical problems;
- D25-5, KVE-N, and KVE-S were closed due to ethylene dibromide;
- D21-3 was closed due to detection of contaminants, although none exceeded the MCL.
Eleven other wells have detectable levels of contaminants, but they are below their respective MCLs and the wells have not been closed (Martin McIntyre, City of Fresno Municipal Water District, Personal Communication, August, 1990). The TCE levels that were detected in these wells are shown in Table 5.
The wells with the highest contaminant concentrations are Pinedale County Water District Well PCWD-3, where the groundwater contamination was first discovered, and Fresno County Water District well D25-2, which is almost a mile directly south of PCWD-3 (see Figure 1). Both had TCE contamination of about 300 ppb, or 60 times higher than the MCL of 5 ppb for TCE. The next highest TCE concentrations were found in municipal wells D25-4 (29 ppb), and D25-8 (21 ppb). D25-4 is located between PCWD-3 and D25-2. D25-8 is west northwest of D25-4.
Several schools and parks near the IWP site have wells which are used for drinking water and/or lawn irrigation. Drinking water at 1090 W. Herndon, Park VanNess, Bullard High, Early Enrichment, and Nelson Elementary School showed no contamination in June, 1988, when contamination was discovered in PCWD-3. Low, but detectable, TCE contamination (2 ppb) had been found in a Bullard High School well when it was sampled in 1985 under AB 1803, but it was not detectable in 1988. Gibson Elementary school had even lower, but still detectable TCE (0.2 to 0.78 ppb) in 1988 (Table 5). The school district offices reported that DTSC has been monitoring the water quality monthly at schools and will notify the schools if the contaminant levels exceed the MCLs.
|PCE||TCE||trans-1,2- DCE||DCE||Chloroform||1,1,1- TCA|
|City W F-93(PS-93)||06/02/88||9.4|
|City W F-98(PS-98)||09/88||0.2|
a) Data obtained from "Summary of Well Sampling Results from the Pinedale-North Fresno Area". Data compiled by Daniel Hafley, Ecology and Environment, Inc. from telephone conversations with Don McCorkel, Pinedale County Water District, Doug Kirk and Dennis Payton, City of Fresno Water Department, and David Duncan, Fresno County Waterworks, June-November, 1988 (EPA file, Reference 4).
b) Well is used for irrigation and drinking water purposes.
PCE = perchloroethylene
TCE = trichloroethylene
trans-1,2-DCE = trans-1,2-dichloroethylene
DCE = dichloroethylene
1,1,1,-TCA = 1,1,1,-trichloroethane
PS-KVE = Kavanaugh Vista Water System
ND = Not Detected
FCD = Federal County Water Works District
City W = City of Fresno System
PCWD = Pinedale Community Water System
Calwa = Calwa Community Water System
Monitoring wells installed on the grounds of Tenaya Middle School contained TCE concentrations which ranged from 14 ppb to 180 ppb at sampling events from May to July 1990, but these monitoring wells were not used for either drinking water or irrigation. Tenaya Middle School, Ratta Elementary School, and Nelson School use city water for drinking.
Approximately 20 private wells to the south and west of the site were sampled in 1990 and contaminants were not present in the groundwater pumped by these wells.
DTSC has been constructing pilot borings and installing monitoring wells to determine the extent to which contaminants have migrated in the groundwater south of Herndon Avenue. DTSC-1 is just south of Herndon Avenue, DTSC-2 is at Sierra Avenue, and DTSC-3 is at Bullard Avenue.
Soil samples were taken from three off-site locations near IWP and from each lot of the housing development recently constructed on Minarets Avenue in order to obtain mortgage financing (Geologist, Krazan and Assoc., Personal Communication, August, 1990). The sampling locations are shown in Figure 5. The samples were taken from the vacant lot 100 ft north of IWP (B-2), from the home lot 100 feet west and across the street from IWP (B-1), and from lot No. 7 (B3), which is five houses west of IWP on West Minarets Avenue. The additional samples from each lot were taken in groups of two or three when the home sites were purchased. The soil boring depth was reported to attempt to extend to the original soil depth. The soils were analyzed by EPA Method 8010 for Purgeable Halocarbons, by Method 8020 for Purgeable Aromatics, and by Method 6010 for metals. Results from these analyses are given in Table 6. This table shows that all metals were present in the range of which may be considered background levels (Geologist, Krazan and Assoc., Personal Communication, August, 1990). The lead concentration in the soil ranged from 5 to 50 mg/kg (Geologist, Krazan and Assoc., Personal Communication, August, 1990).
In preparing this health assessment, DTSC must rely on the information provided in the referenced documents and assumes that adequate quality assurance and quality control measures were followed with regard to chain-of-custody, laboratory procedures, and data reporting. The validity of this health assessment is determined by the completeness and reliability of the referenced information.
|Results of Lot by Lot Soil Sampling|
Tract 3758, Pinedale, CA
ND = Not Detected
BDL = Below Detection Limit
All metal concentrations in mg/kg (ppm).
Samples collected April 1988-September 1989.
Table extracted from: Report of Soil Analysis Lot No.17, Tract 3758, Pinedale, California. March 28, 1990. Krazan & Assoc.
Note: Samples were collected from 2 to 3 lots at a time as lots were sold and graded. An attempt was reportably made to sample original surface soil, but no criteria for distinguishing original surface soil from newly graded surface soil is available.
Some samples, such as that for off-site soil, were not taken according to a scientific peer-reviewed sampling plan to determine if migration of on-site contaminants had occurred. The samples were taken to satisfy requirements for mortgage financing. Although the samples were supposed to have been taken from the original soil, no information is available on how the depth of the original soil around the homesite was determined after the lot was graded. Furthermore, although analysis methods for "Purgeable Halocarbons" and "Purgeable Aromatics" were performed, it is unlikely that low concentrations of volatile chemicals such as VOCs (Purgeable Halocarbons) or benzene (Purgeable Aromatics) would still be present in soil that has been exposed to air.
In August 1988, the EPA Emergency Response Team removed all drums and surface wastes and the top six inches of soil from the IWP site. The site is now a fenced empty lot, although stained soil is still visible. The site is fenced with barbed wire on top and locked, so there is no access except for DTSC employees with a key. The vacant lot north of the site is also fenced, so there is no access to the adjacent property from Harrison Avenue. Presently, it is being used to store some DTSC equipment, but with the fence, this does not pose a hazard.
An aerial photograph of IWP and the adjoining property taken in 1985 (obtained by BSK and Associates, and presented at the Pinedale Groundwater Interagency Meeting, August, 1990) shows that the site was fenced in 1985. The fence probably limited access by children if the gates were closed when no employees were there. However, the gates were open on the day that the photograph was taken. The lot north of the site was also fenced at that time. Thus it seems unlikely that children played on the site. In addition, children living in homes on the west side of Harrison Avenue attend schools on the west side of Harrison Avenue, reducing the chances of them crossing the site on their way to school and stopping to play.