![[logo] US EPA](http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
NPL Site Narrative for Tennessee Products
TENNESSEE PRODUCTS
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Federal Register Notice: September 29, 1995Conditions at Proposal (January 18, 1994): The Tennessee Products site is an aggregation of Southern Coke Corporation (Southern Coke), Chattanooga Creek Tar Deposit site and Hamill Road Dump No. 2. The site is located in a heavily populated, low-income, urban, and industrial area in the Chattanooga Creek basin in Chattanooga, Hamilton County, Tennessee. The site consists of the former Tennessee Products coke plant and its associated uncontrolled coal-tar dumping grounds in Chattanooga Creek and its floodplain. Uncontrolled dumping of coal-tar wastes has contaminated the facility, ground water resources underlying the facility, and surface water resources downstream of the facility including wetlands and fisheries.
The former Tennessee Products coke plant (a.k.a Southern Coke) is located at 4800 Central Avenue, south of Hamill/Hooker Road and approximately 1 mile west of Chattanooga creek. The coal-tar wastes are located along an approximate 2.5 mile section of the creek extending from just upstream of Hamill Road bridge to the creek's confluence with Dobbs Branch. The coal-tar deposits are the result of dumping coal-tar wastes directly into the creek and onto the floodplain within the immediate vicinity of the creek channel. The largest coal-tar deposits have been found in the creek bed and along its banks within a 1-mile segment of the creek between Hamill Road and 38th Street. Analyses for polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as well as visual inspection of sediment cores confirm that coal-tar has heavily contaminated this segment of the creek plus an additional 1.5 miles of the creek downstream from this segment.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) issued a Public Health Advisory for the Tennessee Products Site on August 20, 1993 based on the chemical and physical hazard presented by the coal-tar deposits at the site. The Advisory recommends the following actions: 1) dissociate residents from the coal-tar deposits; 2) continue site characterization to address the potential for migration of contaminants; 3) consider the Tennessee Products Site for inclusion on the National Priorities List (NPL); and 4) as appropriate, consider other coal-tar contaminated sites along the creek for inclusion on the NPL.
Studies have been conducted on Chattanooga Creek on several occasions by EPA and other agencies since 1973. Several of these studies indicate that coal-tar constituents have contaminated the creek and its sediments. The latest of these studies, conducted in 1992 by EPA, has revealed the extent of the coal-tar dumping along the creek. This new information, in combination with historical file information, supports the aggregation of the above mentioned sites.
Status (September 1995): Since the site was proposed, ATSDR has worked with the State, schools, and community to conduct an extensive health assessment. EPA has also begun working to involve the community in the site investigation and remedial planning. The RI/FS and ecological risk assessment for the site are also on-going. Investigations have identified further coal tar deposits in the creek.
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and one of the PRPs have entered into a voluntary agreement to demolish buildings and repair the fence at the old Coke Plant site. In cooperation with EPA, the Corps of Engineers (the Corps) has completed a focused feasibility study on the contaminated sediments in Chattanooga Creek to identify and estimate the costs associated with various treatment alternatives. EPA and the Corps of Engineers are developing treatability studies for innovative technologies and is also developing proposals and estimates on early remediation/removal actions for heavily contaminated areas and associated cost estimates.
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.