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Trans Circuits, Inc.
National Information
Photos/Multimedia
Municipal supply well at Trans Circuits site.
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: FLD091471904Location: Lake Park, Palm Beach County, FL
Lat/Long: 26.795270, -080.073880
Congressional District: 23
NPL Status: Proposed: 10/22/99; Final: 02/04/00
Affected Media: Ground water, Soil
Cleanup Status: Early Action Initiated/Completed and Construction Underway - Physical cleanup activities have started.
Human Exposure Under Control: Yes
Groundwater Migration Under Control: No
Sitewide Ready for Anticipated Use: No
Site Reuse/Redevelopment: Currently unused
Site Manager: Bill Denman (denman.bill@epa.gov)
Current Site Status
The Trans Circuits, Inc. site is the location of a former circuit board manufacturing and plating facility. EPA placed the site on the National Priorities List (NPL) in 2000 because of contaminated soil and ground water resulting from facility operations. EPA and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) have investigated site conditions and taken steps to clean up the site in order to protect people and the environment from contamination. Site contamination does not threaten people living and working near the site. In the 2000s, EPA constructed a public drinking water supply well and removed contaminated soil. EPA will clean up remaining ground water contamination and site soils (if necessary) as funding becomes available. While the site is currently not in use, the owner is marketing the site property for reuse.
Site Location and Background
The 1-acre site is located at 210 Newman Road in southwestern Lake Park, Florida, a few miles north of Riviera Beach. The site is partially paved and includes a 21,000-square-foot building and a former wastewater treatment pond. The site is located in the Tri-City Industrial Park; occupied and vacant commercial and industrial buildings in the park are next to the site. The area surrounding the industrial park includes neighborhoods with low-income and minority residents.
From 1978 to 1985, Trans Circuits, Inc. manufactured and plated equipment for circuit boards at the site. The company disposed of liquid waste in an on-site wastewater pond and eventually put in an on-site system for treating wastewater. However, this system did not address all chemical contaminants and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were released into the soil and ground water. Trans Circuits, Inc. closed the facility in 1985.
In 1981, EPA sampled the City of Riviera Beach’s nearby public well field for VOCs. In 1984, the City took municipal well (Public Well 17) out of service due to contamination. In 1987, an air stripper treatment system was constructed on the Site to reduce the levels of PCE and TCE. The system captured, treated and redistributed more than one million gallons of ground water during its two years of operation. In 1988, the City of Riviera Beach installed air strippers at their water plant to treat area-wide VOC contamination in the groundwater. The City of Riviera Beach still operates these large scale air stripping towers.
Between 1989 and 1998, EPA and FDEP completed several investigations at the site. By 1998, the agencies decided that earlier attempts to clean up the site had been unsuccessful and further action was necessary. In 2000, EPA listed the site on the NPL. In the 2000s, a company used the site for a commercial business. While the site is currently not in use, the owner is marketing the site property for reuse.
Threats and Contaminants
Site investigations identified contamination in soil and ground water that could potentially harm people in the area. Soil and ground water contamination resulted from facility operations at the site. The area of contaminated ground water is the primary source of drinking water for three public water supply systems near the site. Contaminants of concern included tetrachloroethylene (also known as PCE or PERC) and related contaminants trichloroethene and dichloroethene, fluoride, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
EPA cleaned up site soils so that the site’s land area can safely support commercial and industrial uses. While EPA continues to address ground water contamination, local residents do not use the ground water for any purpose. The South Florida Water Management District has restricted inappropriate use of ground water wells at the site until all contaminants of concern are below cleanup goals.
Investigation and Cleanup Responsibility / Oversight
EPA leads site investigation and cleanup activities in cooperation with FDEP.
Site Cleanup Plan
In 2001, EPA issued a cleanup plan (a Record of Decision, or ROD) for the site. The plan included the following activities:
- Replacing Public Well 17 with a new well outside the area of contaminated ground water.
- Providing funding for the operation & maintenance of the City of Riviera Beach's air stripping towers until the replacement well was installed.
- Removing contaminated surface soils so that the site’s land area can safely support commercial and industrial uses.
- Chemically treating site ground water.
- Restricting land uses on site to prevent residential development and to restrict access to contaminated ground water.
In 2010, EPA issued an Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD) to:
- Replace chemical treatment of ground water with an organic treatment approach.
- Allow for more sampling and excavation, or digging up, of site soils to make it possible for the site’s land area to support unrestricted land uses.
- Clarify that restrictions on ground water use put in place by the South Florida Water Management District will be in place until all contaminants of concern are below cleanup level goals.
Cleanup Progress
EPA has implemented many parts of the approved cleanup plan. EPA reimbursed the City of Riviera Beach for the operation of a ground water treatment system during the construction of the new municipal water well. EPA dug-up and removed contaminated soil to meet cleanup goals that allow for commercial and industrial land uses on site and disposed of the soil off site.
EPA planned to treat contaminated ground water by injecting chemicals into ground water. Through a study planned as part of the cleanup, EPA found that injecting other organic substances to break down contamination (a bioremediation technique) was more effective than chemical injections. EPA anticipates that the new approach will not increase the estimated cost of the ground water cleanup. Implementation of this portion of the ground water cleanup began in January 2012 and is expected to last several years.
The site’s first Five-Year Review, completed in 2007, found that the site’s cleanup approach was continuing to protect people and the environment from remaining site contamination in the short term. For the site’s cleanup to be protective over the long term, EPA needed to take additional steps.
Summaries of cleanup activities are also available in Five-Year Reviews online.
Enforcement Activities
EPA was unable to identify any viable potentially responsible parties for the site. EPA is using federal funds to implement the final cleanup.
Community Involvement
EPA has worked with the community and its state partner to develop a long-term cleanup plan for the site, reflecting the Agency’s commitment to safe, healthy communities and environmental protection. Community engagement and public outreach are core components of EPA program activities.
EPA has conducted a range of community involvement activities to solicit community input and to make sure the public remains informed about site activities throughout the cleanup process. Outreach efforts have included public notices, interviews, fact sheets and public meetings.
Future Work
EPA completed the last Five-Year Review in 2007 and plans to complete the next Five-Year Review in 2012.
Additional Information
EPA keeps additional site documents and information in a site information repository at the location below. EPA also posts site documents, when available, on EPA’s CERCLIS Site Profile page. For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office.
Site Repository
Riviera Beach Public Library
600 West Blue Heron Boulevard
Riviera Beach, FL 30404