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NPL Site Narrative for Memphis Defense Depot (DLA)
MEMPHIS DEFENSE DEPOT
Memphis, Tennessee
Federal Register Notice: October 14, 1992Conditions at Proposal (February 7, 1992): The Memphis Defense Depot is comprised of 642 acres in south central Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee. It is located in a mixed residential/commercial/industrial area. The site consists of two contiguous sections: Dunn Field, an open storage and burial area of about 60 acres; and the main installation. The site is currently known as the "Defense Distribution Region Central."
In operation since 1942, the depot is a major field installation of the Defense Logistics Agency. Its primary function is to provide materiel support (including clothing, food, medical supplies, electronic equipment, petroleum products, and industrial chemicals) to all U.S. military services and some civilian agencies. The depot has conducted numerous operations dealing with hazardous substances.
A total of 75 waste disposal areas and other areas of concern have been identified at the facility, most of them in Dunn Field. Among the wastes disposed of, according to the Department of Defense (DOD), are oil, grease, paints, paint thinners, methyl bromide, and pesticides. In addition, stored materials have reportedly spilled and leaked at the main installation, as well as at Dunn Field, contaminating soil with volatile organic compounds, metals, PCBs, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, and pesticides.
Shallow ground water is contaminated with arsenic, lead, chromium, nickel, tetrachloroethene, and trichloroethene, according to tests conducted in 1989 by DOD. An estimated 154,300 people obtain drinking water from public and private wells within 4 miles of the site. The nearest well, within 0.5 mile of hazardous substances at the depot, also provides water for commercial food production. These wells draw from deeper ground water, which is not now contaminated.
There was recreational fishing on Lake Danielson, a 4-acre man-made lake on the facility, until 1986, when DOD tests found pesticides (DDD,DDE, dieldrin, and chlordane) and PCBs in lake sediment and fish tissue. The tests also found cadmium, chromium, lead, and zinc in lake sediments.
In August 1990, the depot submitted the results of a 2-year environmental study to EPA. As a result of that study, EPA requested that the depot complete its study characterizing contamination at the depot, and take interim measures to expedite cleanup of a plume of contaminated ground water underneath a portion of the depot. The additional work was conducted under a permit to store hazardous materials, issued in September 1990 under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
Status (October 1992): On February 19, 1992, EPA requested that the depot, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, and EPA commence negotiations of a Federal Facilities Agreement under CERCLA Section 120. The depot has submitted a draft agreement, which is under review. A formal negotiations meeting is scheduled for the fall of 1992.
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.