Walcotte Chemical

Site Profile

For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office (http://www.epa.gov/region4/foiapgs/submit.htm).

Site Background:
The Walcotte Chemical Site in Washington County, Mississippi, is a one-acre warehouse that operated from 1953 to the early 1960s. Drums had deteriorated to the point where the partially exposed chemicals in them could have exploded or started a fire. Primary contaminants in the warehouse were formic acid, various pesticides, and volatile organic compounds, such as toluene. Groundwater near the site is used for residential, industrial, and irrigation purposes. Approximately 35,000 people live within 3 miles of the site. The Walcotte Chemical Site is located in an urban, residential, and commercial district. The nearest home is within 60 feet of the site. The site is near Lake Ferguson, which is connected to the Mississippi River. The site itself is in a flood plain of the Mississippi river, which could have resulted in the potential for contaminants to move through surface water into the drinking water and to surface soils. Both are used by area residents for recreational purposes.

Cleanup Progress: Construction Completed
EPA and the State of Mississippi sampled the drums to verify the contents in 1981. Due to the explosive nature of drummed chemical wastes, the agencies temporarily evacuated area residents before clean-up activities were initiated. The potentially responsible parties (PRPs) agreed to clean up the site under EPA oversight. The PRPs then staged the drums, repacked them, and transported them to a regulated landfill in 1982 for safe disposal. These actions eliminated the threats posed by site contamination, effectively cleaning up the entire site. After monitoring site conditions, EPA, in conjunction with the State of Mississippi, determined that the site was safe for people and the environment. As a result of the cleanup activities described above, the Walcotte Chemical Site has been restored to a safe condition. The site was never finalized on the NPL, so the effective deletion date of December 1982 precedes the first final NPL. No Five-Year Reviews are required for the Site. No further updates are warranted at this time.