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NPL Site Narrative for United Heckathorn Co.
UNITED HECKATHORN CO.
Richmond, California
Federal Register Notice: March 14, 1990Conditions at proposal (October 26, 1989): The United Heckathorn Co. Site is adjacent to the Lauritzen Canal at 402 Wright Avenue in Richmond, Contra Costa County, California. The canal is on the Richmond Inner Harbor, which is on San Francisco Bay in an area that is primarily light industrial with some residential development. The site includes the property where United Heckathorn Co. once operated and all other areas where releases from that property have come to be located.
From 1948 through 1965, several companies leased a 13.5-acre property to process chemicals. The owners have been: from 1947 through 1961, Parr Industrial Corp.; from 1961 through 1981, Parr Richmond Terminal Corp.; and from 1981 through the present, Levin-Richmond Terminal Corp. (LRTC). In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Universal Pigment and Chemical Co. produced napalm on-site. From 1958 to 1965, Montrose Chemical Corp. contracted with United Heckathorn, United Chemetrics, and ChemWest for DDT-grinding services. These companies were tenants on the site during this period. United Heckathorn Co. was the last company to formulate pesticides at this site (1957-1965). The current operation on the site involves metal recycling.
The California Department of Fish and Game has recorded several instances of chemicals being discharged into the Lauritzen Canal, including naphthenic acid in 1951 and DDT in 1960; the 1960 incident resulted in the death of 48 striped bass.
In August 1980, the California Department of Health Services (CDHS), under its Abandoned Site Project, inspected the site and found elevated levels of DDT, lindane, BHC, aldrin, and other pesticides in nine soil samples.
In early 1983, LRTC hired a consultant to study on-site DDT contamination. Soils were found to contain DDT and xylene, and sediments from the canal contained DDT. During the study, parts of the site were covered with 6 to 8 inches of crushed rock. LRTC's Site Characterization Plan was not approved by CDHS, however, so CDHS is conducting its own investigation of soil and ground water contamination.
The Richmond Inner Harbor is used for recreational and commercial fishing and shellfish harvesting, as well as recreational activities. A coastal wetland is less than 0.5 mile from the site. The harbor is part of San Francisco Bay, which the Water Quality Act of 1987 declared to be an estuary of national significance.
In July-August 1988, EPA detected DDT in the atmosphere at numerous locations on and off the site. An estimated 10,900 people live within 1 mile of the site.
Status (March 14, 1990): EPA is considering various alternatives for the site.
For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on the Internet at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaq.html or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.