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MARION COUNTY
MARION COUNTY
Congressional District # 04
LITTLE SCIOTO RIVER
EPA ID# OHN000509950Last Updated: April, 2013
Site Description
The Little Scioto River (LSR) Superfund site is located in Marion Township, Marion County, Ohio. The Little Scioto River flows into the Scioto River, which is a major tributary of the Ohio River. At the LSR site, a four-mile stretch of Little Scioto River sediment is contaminated with coal tar creosote that contains hazardous polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds and which originated from the nearby former Baker Wood Creosoting (BWC) facility.
The former BWC facility preserved lumber products from approximately 1890 through the late 1960s. Railroad ties were preserved with coal-tar creosote and then stacked to dry on the western portion of the property. By 1946, the Ohio Department of Health had notified BWC that chemicals (likely creosote) were being discharged from BWC into the combined sewers that drain to nearby North Rockswale Ditch and the Little Scioto River. The BWC facility is currently vacant.
From 2002 to 2006, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted a substantial amount of excavation work in the Little Scioto River, removing 68,000 tons of PAH-contaminated sediment from a two-mile stretch of the river as well as from a polluted shoreline area.
EPA proposed to place the LSR site on the National Priorities List (NPL) in April 2009 and listed it on the NPL in September 2009.
Site Responsibility
The LSR site is being addressed through state and federal actions.
Threats and Contaminants
Although EPA removed 68,000 tons of contaminated sediment from the Little Scioto River, additional contaminated sediment remains. The Ohio Department of Health has maintained a 1992 heath advisory against swimming, wading, and eating fish from this stretch of the river. The advisory area runs west from the city of Marion, from Holland Road south to State Route 739.
People who swim or wade in this stretch of the river risk incidental ingestion of or direct contact with creosote- and PAH-contaminated sediment. Those who fish, despite the advisory, risk ingestion of these chemicals from contaminated fish and direct contact with contaminated sediment.
Cleanup Progress
EPA had conducted a removal action at the Baker Wood Creosoting (BWC) property and in the Little Scioto River to address immediate health risks. This work included draining and dredging a 1.25-mile stretch of river. The area was backfilled with clean soil. Contaminated sediment was removed and dried on a pad just east of the cleanup area and then shipped to Bucyrus, Ohio, for proper disposal.
EPA initiated a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) at the site in July 2009. In October 2010, EPA collected fish and mussel tissue samples along with sediment and water samples from the Little Scioto River and its tributaries. In April 2011, EPA collected soil and groundwater samples from the former BWC property. In February 2012, EPA did some follow-up data collection at the site. The results of these sampling events will be compiled into an RI Report, planned for completion in summer 2013.
EPA will complete a feasibility study (FS) that evaluates potential cleanup alternatives for the LSR site, if necessary, in 2014.