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Zellwood Groundwater Contamination Site
National Information
Photos/Multimedia
Entrance to Zellwood Groundwater Contamination site.
- Additional Site Photos
- Site Video
Additional Resources
- Site Cleanup Terms - can be found in EPA's glossary
- EPA Guides to Cleanup Technologies
- Superfund Community Involvement (PDF) (17 pp, 130K, About PDF)
Site Summary Profile
EPA ID: FLD049985302Location: Zellwood, Orange County, FL
Lat/Long: 28.731950, -081.613330
Congressional District: 03
NPL Status: Proposed 12/30/1982; Final: 9/08/2003
Affected Media: Ground water, Sediment, Soil
Cleanup Status: Construction complete - physical cleanup activities have been completed
Site Reuse/Redevelopment: In continued use - manufacturing, warehouse/distribution, and office facilities.
Site Manager: James Hou (hou.james@epa.gov)
Site Background
The Zellwood Groundwater Contamination site covers 57 acres and is located approximately 0.5 miles west of Zellwood, Florida. Numerous companies have operated in this industrial area since the early 1960's.
Beginning in 1963, Drum Service Company of Florida, a drum recycling facility, used two unlined, evaporation/percolation ponds for treatment and disposal of wastewater generated as part of operations. In 1980, the company redesigned their treatment system and stopped using these ponds for disposal of wastewater. In 1981, the ponds were drained and contaminated sediments were removed and sent to an off-site landfill. The ponds were then filled in. Adjacent to Drum Service of Florida, Douglas Fertilizer, and Chemical Company and Southern Liquid Fertilizer discharged wastewater from their production process into three unlined lagoons.
Additionally, from 1960 to 1983, the Zellwin Farms Company facility, a vegetable washing and packing plant in the area, discharged wastewater from the vegetable washing process into a drainage ditch south of Jones Avenue.
Chemical Systems of Florida, Inc. began operation in 1982 and continues to manufacture cleaning agents for the food industry and chain lubricants for food processing chain conveyor systems.
Approximately 300 homes are located within a 1-mile radius of the site and depend on private wells as their sole source of drinking water. The Town of Zellwood is 0.5 miles away, and about 5,000 of its residents use ground water for drinking water. A portion of the site is a vegetated wetland.
Threats and Contaminants
Many ground water investigations were conducted at the site between 1984 and 1999. The results of these investigations indicated that a plume of ground water contamination containing numerous metals and nutrients (i.e., ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites) was present at the site.
Site Cleanup Plan
EPA identified two operable units (OUs) for the site: OU-1 (contaminated soil) and OU-2 (contaminated ground water).
The Record of Decision (ROD) for OU-1 was issued in 1987. Major cleanup elements for the site included:
- Excavation of contaminated soils.
- On-site thermal destruction and off-site disposal of the incinerated soil.
This OU-1 ROD was amended in 1990 to change the remedy to excavation, solidification, and on-site disposal of the remaining contaminated soil and sediment.
The ROD for OU-2 was issued in 2000. Major cleanup elements included:
- Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) of contaminants in ground water.
- Institutional controls including ground water use advisories (issued by EPA), and zoning regulations.
- Installation of new permanent ground water monitoring wells.
- Implementation of a performance monitoring plan to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of natural attenuation
Cleanup Progress
Cleanup activities for OU-1 were undertaken in two phases. Phase 1 addressed the excavation and stockpiling of on-site contaminated soils and the completion of confirmation soil sampling and analysis. Phase 2 addressed the solidification of all contaminated soils as well as the excavation of additional contaminated soils not removed during Phase 1. Phase I was completed in October 1992 and created a solidified monolith which was covered with soil and planted with grass to prevent erosion. Due to cost considerations, the excavation of contaminated soil from the Former Percolation Pond was not completed in Phase 1 but was added to the scope of work for Phase 2.
Phase 2 was completed in May 1994. Cleanup activities for OU-2 included preparation of a Post-ROD Monitoring Plan (prepared in 2000), installation of two additional down-gradient monitoring well pairs, and implementation of Post-ROD monitoring, which begin in March 2002.
Two Five-Year Reviews (FYRs) have been completed for the site - 2000 and 2006. Issues identified in the 2006 FYR included: the need for two additional down-gradient monitoring well pairs for OU-2; the need to re-survey the top of casing elevations for several monitoring wells that were retrofitted as the result of vehicular/heavy equipment damage; the potential need to create another site, the Jones Avenue VOC Contamination Site, to address a VOC plume that does not appear to have originated at the Zellwood site; and the need for implementation of institutional controls (specifically restrictive covenants) for OU-1.
Site cleanup activities have been undertaken both by EPA and by potentially responsible parties with oversight by EPA.
Enforcement Activities
In 2001, EPA entered into a Consent Decree with Drum Sendee Co. of Fl., IFCO Industrial Container Systems FL, LLC. and IFCO Industrial Container Systems, Inc. to implement the cleanup activities described in the RODs.
Community Involvement
EPA has conducted a range of community involvement activities at the Zellwood Groundwater site to solicit community input and to ensure that the public remains informed about site activities throughout the site cleanup process. Outreach activities have included public notices, interviews, and public meetings on cleanup activities and updates.
Future Work
Ground water sampling results will continued to be analyzed over time to ensure the site contaminants are naturally degrading. The ground water in the area will be monitored until the standards specified in the ROD have been reached.
Site Administrative Documents
Site Repository
For more information or to view any site-related documents, please visit the site information repository at the following location. As new documents are generated, they will be placed in the information repository for public information.
Zellwood Elementary School
E. Washington Ave.
Zellwood, FL 32798
For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office.