Velsicol Chemical Corporation

• Site Profile
• Administrative Record Index(All PDF): OU1 (7 pp., 270K), OU2 (5 pp.187K )
• Additional Site Documents including Five Year Reviews, Records of Decisions (ROD) and Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD).
• 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:
Velsicol Chemical Corp. Landfill is located in Hardeman County, Tennessee. The landfill is approximately 27 acres on a 242-acre parcel of land owned by the Velsicol Corporation. The landfill was used for disposal of pesticides and volatile organic compounds from 1964 to 1973. The waste was generated by the Velsicol plant in Memphis, Tennessee. Approximately 130,000 drums of plant waste were disposed of in the landfill. An estimated 3,668,700 cubic yards of soil below the waste have been impacted. Approximately 60 people live within a 1-mile radius of the site. In 1979, private wells were impacted by Site-related groundwater contamination, mainly chloroform and carbon tetrachloride. Residents filed a class action suit against the Velsicol Corporation, and were financially compensated for the adverse impacts of Site-related groundwater contamination on their drinking water supply. The groundwater contamination plume is estimated to be two and a half square miles in size. Since 1979, the City of Toone has provided an alternate water supply to residents within a 3-mile radius of the site.

Cleanup Progress: Selection of New Remedy Needed  
The Operable Unit 1 Remedial Action consisted of five extraction wells located immediately downgradient of the landfill in an attempt to prevent further migration of the groundwater contamination from the landfill.  Four extraction wells were also installed within the plume of groundwater contamination in order to remove as much contaminant mass as possible. The Operable Unit 2 Remedial Action upgraded the existing low-permeability clay cap over the landfill, with the objective of reducing the infiltration of rainwater into the landfill. The upgraded cap affected 24 acres of the existing 35-acre clay cap.

The First Five-Year Review Report for the Site was completed on September 28, 2000, and concluded that the Site remedies for OU1 and OU2 were properly operating and were protective of human health and the environment.  However, as a result of the review, EPA directed that a performance evaluation (PE) be performed.  During this evaluation, the Groundwater Extraction Treatment System (GETS) was taken off-line after it was determined that the system required major repairs.  The GETS remained off-line pending off-gas treatment considerations, abandonment and/or modification of extraction wells, and the outcome of the Second Five-Year Review. 

The Second Five-Year Review was completed in April 2006, which concluded that the OU1 and OU2 remedies are not protective for several reasons.  The determination was made that the GETS was not providing hydraulic containment.  In addition, the determination was made that groundwater at the Site would not be restored to drinking-water conditions under the current remedial scenario.  In addition, institutional controls (ICs) to prevent the use of Site-related groundwater contamination have not been established.  Contaminated groundwater continues to leach from the landfill, and discharge to nearby surface water. 

EPA is currently evaluating alternatives or options, with the objective of selecting a new remedy, which meets to the maximum extent possible, the nine criteria identified in the National Contingency Plan (NCP) for selecting a remedy. Among the nine criteria, the new remedy should provide adequate protection of human health and the environment.

In 2005 and 2007 indoor and ambient air sampling was conducted to investigate the potential for vapor intrusion in the residential area proximal to the Site.  The results of the February and August 2007 residential crawlspace air sampling indicated that the concentrations of carbon tetrachloride exceeded USEPA’s acceptable risk range in two residences.  In May and October 2007, this potential risk was addressed by installing a vapor mitigation system in the crawl space of the each of the two homes. 

Beginning in January, 2008, EPA initiated a one year indoor and ambient air sampling program to further characterize the ambient and indoor air issues across the site.   Results of the air sampling program will be available in the spring of 2009.

Beginning in the summer of 2008, EPA initiated a soil vapor extraction (sve) pilot study for the south west disposal area at the site.  System construction is near completion and the sve system is scheduled to become operational in early 2009 and operate as a pilot study for a minimum of one year.  Information from the pilot study will be used to determine if full scale sve is suitable as a remedial option site wide.