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Picayune Wood Treating
National Information
Photos/Multimedia
Drums along fence line of Picayune Wood Treating 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: MSD065490930Location: Picayune, Pearl River County, MS
Lat/Long: 30.524440, -089.689720
Congressional District: 04
NPL Status: Proposed: 03/08/2004; Final: 07/22/2004
Affected Media: Ground water, Soil, Sediment
Cleanup Status: Physical cleanup activities have started.
Site Reuse/Redevelopment: Possible commercial/industrial development or open space (parks, recreation centers, and open fields)
Site Manager: Michael Taylor (taylor.michael@epa.gov)
Site Background
The Picayune Wood Treating site is located in the City of Picayune at 403 Davis Street on a 31.5-acre parcel of land within Pearl River County, Mississippi. The site is the location of a former wood treating facility that used creosote and pentachlorophenol (PCP) in the treatment process. The site once included a sawmill, veneer mill, a wooden box factory, and a tung oil extraction facility. Only a few of the structures remain on the site.
The site is generally flat, and is mostly gravel roads, tall grass, and vegetation. Mill Creek is considered to be the eastern boundary of the site. Fencing marks the boundary of the property to the north, west, and south.
The site is situated in an industrial complex where a chromated copper arsenate facility and a paint blending company are currently operating. These facilities are located near the site, outside the site boundaries to the north and southwest, respectively. Additional land use surrounding the site includes residential, commercial, and industrial areas to the north; a public park, day care center, and residences to the south; commercial and industrial areas to the east; and Southside Elementary School and residences to the west. Timber- and lumber-related operations began in the early 1900s; wood treating operation most likely began around 1946. The Crosby Products Company, pressure-treated yellow southern pine wood with preservative chemicals (creosote). In 1973, Wood Treating, Inc. (WTI) purchased the facility and continued to pressure-treat wood at the site until 1999 when operations ceased.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and EPA regulated the WTI facility under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) from 1981 to 1999. The site was listed as final on the National Priorities List in 2004. Since 1985, several cleanup actions have been initiated at the site.
Threats and Contaminants
Contaminants in soil, sediment, and ground water represent potential human health threats.
In terms of potential impacts to human health, the most significant contaminants found in site soils were dioxins, carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and naphthalene. Dense nonaqueous phase liquid (liquids heavier than water), thought to be creosote, has been identified in ground water located under the main processing area and the former cooling water pond. Contamination indicating creosote has also been identified in sediments on and near the site.
Site Cleanup Plan
A Record of Decision (ROD) was issued in 2007 to address remaining contamination in soils and ground water at the site. Major components of the cleanup approach for contaminated soils included:
- Excavation of contaminated soil and sediment [220,000 cubic yards], and disposal of excavated soils and sediment into the on-site disposal areas.
- Confirmation sampling and analysis of the excavated areas to ensure that the cleanup goals are met.
- Compaction of excavated soils/sediments in the on-site disposal area.
- Backfill of clean soil into areas where contaminated soil and sediment were removed (220,000 cubic yards).
- Placement of a cover over the disposal site (16 acres).
- Placement of a 6-inch topsoil cover and grass seeding over the disposal cell and soil excavation area (37 acres).
- Use of land use/deed restrictions to limit construction over the disposal area, and to prevent use of contaminated ground water above cleanup goals on-site and in nearby downgradient areas of the site.
- Long term ground water monitoring to assess the effectiveness of the remedial action until the cleanup goals for ground water are met.
The cleanup approach for ground water will include a combination of containment and treatment. Vertical barriers will be installed to contain the two sources of ground water contamination. Contaminated ground water outside of the contained areas will be treated using a combination of on-site flushing, on-site chemical oxidation, and on-site enhanced bioremediation.
Cleanup Progress
Following discovery of ground water contamination beneath the two closed impoundments at the site in 1985, WTI closed the cooling water pond and trench impoundments that were used to manage wastewater and/or sludge generated during the treatment operations.
In 1991, WTI installed six recovery wells as part of a ground water pump and treat system to comply with a RCRA post-closure permit issued to WTI in 1989. WTI operated the corrective action system to recover non-aqueous phase liquid (liquid contaminants that remain undiluted such as spilled oil) and contaminated ground water. The system has been dismantled and is no longer operable.
Between 1999-2001, wastewater and creosote sludge were treated, and mercury, asbestos, tanks, scrap metal and tanker cars were removed as part of an EPA emergency response action. Stabilized sludges resulting from the action remain onsite; however, a removal action under the direction of EPA is pending that will transport this material to an appropriate treatment facility.
In 2001, EPA installed a chain link fence along Mill Creek to prevent access to the soil and sediment, and posted warning signs along the fence that runs through the neighborhood to further inform residents of the potential dangers.
In 2007, efforts began to remove dioxin-contaminated soils in residential areas adjacent to Mill Creek. Removal activities in the residential areas will continue through March 2008.
Site cleanup activities are being led primarily by EPA.
Enforcement Activities
The Mississippi Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) and MDEQ inspected the site several times between 1981 and 1998, during which several deficiencies and RCRA violations were noted. In 1991, WTI installed six recovery wells as part of a ground water pump and treat system to comply with a RCRA post-closure permit issued to WTI in 1989.
The investigation and cleanup of the site has not been funded by the Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) at the site, since there are no financially viable PRPs.Community Involvement
EPA has conducted a range of community involvement activities at the Picayune Wood Treating 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 and information meetings on cleanup progress and activities.
Future Work
A Remedial Design was initiated in early 2008 for addressing the former wood treating site and groundwater contaminants.
The Remedial Design is scheduled for completion by the last quarter of 2009.
Remedial Actions are planned for early 2010.
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.
Margaret Reed Crosby Memorial Library
900 Goodyear Blvd
Picayune, MS 39466
(601)798-50081
For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office.