Mid-Atlantic Superfund

EPA Region 3 (Mid-Atlantic)

Virginia
Portsmouth
7 miles from the Chesapeake Bay
on the South Branch of the Elizabeth River

EPA ID# VAD990710410

4th Congressional District

Last Update: October 2009

Other Names

Atlantic Creosote

Current Site Status

EPA is beginning the cleanup about one year earlier than expected! EPA expects work to begin late 2009 or early 2010. EPA has allocated approximately $11 million so a number of the cleanup steps at the Atlantic Wood Industries (AWI) Superfund site can start. These steps include:

• Stabilizing creosote-soaked soils;
• Constructing an earthen berm to contain some of the contaminated sediments that will be dredged in a future phase;
• Constructing a sheet pile wall to stabilize shoreline along western bank of the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River at property owned by the Portsmouth Port and Industrial Commission just north of the AWI facility; and
• Excavating contaminated soil along Elm Avenue.

Nearly $4 million of the funding has come from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Additionally, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has signed agreements with EPA under which the Commonwealth will provide 10% of the cleanup cost as required by the Superfund law. During 2010, EPA expects to complete the design of most of the other cleanup steps including the river dredging and sediment consolidation components. EPA is coordinating its design and construction activities with those of FIGG Bridge Developers who is replacing the closed Jordan Bridge that crosses the river through part of the site.

Site Description

The AWI site is approximately 48 acres of land on the industrialized waterfront area of Portsmouth, Virginia. This land is surrounded by the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, the operations center for the Portsmouth Public School District, the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River and several other small industrial properties. The site also includes approximately 35 acres of contaminated sediments in the river. From 1926 to 1992, a wood-treating facility operated at the site using both creosote and pentachlorophenol (PCP). The site was contaminated from the treatment operation, storage of treated wood and disposal of wastes. At one time, the Navy leased part of the property from AWI and disposed of waste on-site, including used abrasive blast media (ABM) from the sand blasting of naval equipment. The Navy also disposed of sludge from the production of acetylene in a wetland on the border of the Southgate Annex of the Shipyard and the AWI site. Sediments in the Elizabeth River contain visible creosote. The ground water and soil at the site are also heavily contaminated with creosote. Creosote contamination previously migrated into a storm sewer and discharged to an inlet of the Elizabeth River at the northeast corner of the site near the former Jordan Bridge.

Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), PCP, dioxins and metals contamination (mainly arsenic, chromium, copper, lead and zinc) have been detected in soils, ground water and sediments. A number of these compounds have also been detected in stormwater runoff from the site.

Currently, AWI operates a pre-stressed concrete products manufacturing facility at the site. The site is about seven miles from the Chesapeake Bay. Approximately 14,000 people work within a ½-mile radius of the site. The drinking water supply within a three-mile radius is provided by public utilities. Ground water in this area is not used as a drinking water source.

Site Responsibility

Cleanup of this site is the responsibility of the Federal government and parties potentially responsible for site contamination.

NPL Listing History

This site was proposed to the National Priorities List of the most serious uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites requiring long-term cleanup action on June 10, 1986. The site was formally added to the list on February 21, 1990, making it eligible for federal cleanup funds.

Threats and Contaminants

Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), PCP, dioxins and metals contamination (mainly arsenic, chromium, copper, lead and zinc) have been detected in soils, ground water, and sediments.  Many of these contaminants have also been found in crabs and oysters near the site and stormwater runoff from the site.  The sediments in the Elizabeth River contain creosote as a free product.  A risk assessment indicated that direct contact or accidental ingestion of contaminated soil is potentially harmful to on-site workers. 

The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) has issued a “Do Not Eat” advisory for the blue crab hepatopancreas because of elevated levels of dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).  The hepatopancreas is also known as the “mustard”, “green gland”, or “tomalley”.  The advisory applies only to avoiding eating the crab's hepatopancreas.  Crab meat is not subject to the advisory.  The advisory applies to the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River and its tidal tributaries.  PCBs are not a site-related contaminant.  The VDH has also issued an advisory for fish in this area because of elevated levels of PCBs.  The VDH also prohibits the taking of oysters and other molluscs from most of the Elizabeth River including near the site.

Contaminant descriptions and risk factors are available from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, an arm of the CDC.

Cleanup Progress

During the summer and fall of 2008, EPA collected sediment samples to determine the extent of dredging, soil samples to determine if any excavation is required prior to capping the Atlantic Wood property with clean soil, and sediment samples to obtain physical property data used in the design of the sheet pile that will be used to build the containment system for the dredged sediment. This information was also used to determine the location of the off-shore sheet pile wall which will create a consolidation area for the dredged sediments. EPA also conducted a cultural resources survey to look for and document historical resources at the site. All of this information has been used to develop our final cleanup design.

On December 21, 2007, EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) that describes EPA's selected remedy for cleaning up the site. The ROD describes activities to address soil, ground water, and sediment contamination in the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River. The main components of the selected remedy include: a clean soil cover over the areas of contaminated soil; excavation of creosote hot spots found on the west side of the AWI property with disposal on the east side; monitored natural attenuation (MNA) of ground water; installation of a sheet pile wall off-shore in the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River to prevent creosote migration to the river; dredging of river sediments with disposal of dredged sediment mainly behind the sheet pile wall (creating new land); and enhanced monitored natural recovery (MNR) of sediments. The estimated cost of the cleanup plan is $44.9 million. Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality concurred with EPA's cleanup plan, although with some reservation. The ROD also contains responses to public comments EPA received verbally at the two public meetings last summer and received in written form during the approximately 60-day comment period. The ROD can be found on EPA Region 3's Atlantic Wood Industries site web page. Information used to support EPA's decision can be found in the Administrative Record for the site (see below). This ROD addresses all of the site contamination and replaces the 1995 ROD which only addressed a portion of the site.

In 2002, EPA, AWI and the Navy reached an agreement to undertake a removal action to cleanup acetylene sludge from an on-site wetland and to cap an abrasive blast media (ABM) disposal area. The sludge removal and the wetland restoration were completed in 2003. The ABM work has been put on hold in an effort to fold this work into the overall soil cleanup.

EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) on September 29, 1995, to address both contaminated soil and sediment from a wetlands area at the site. The ROD required that most of the soil and sediments be treated using bioremediation, with low temperature thermal desorption as a backup in case the bioremediation did not reach the cleanup levels. Once treated, the soil and sediments would be backfilled on-site. Attempts would be made to pump creosote from the subsurface through existing and new recovery wells. During the design phase of the cleanup, new information was collected which indicated that the site was more contaminated than previously thought. As a result, EPA determined that the cleanup called for in the ROD may not have been the most appropriate plan and decided to conduct an additional feasibility study that could take this new information into account. This new feasibility study has been completed.

In an EPA removal action, AWI installed a liner in a storm sewer to prevent creosote from entering into the sewer and migrating to the river. AWI also excavated approximately 660 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from the inlet. AWI completed this work in the spring of 1995.

Contacts

Site Contacts

Administrative Record Locations