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NPL Site Narrative for Rockwool Industries Inc
ROCKWOOL INDUSTRIES INC
Bell County, Texas
Federal Register Notice: September 29, 1998Conditions at Proposal (March 1998): The Rockwool Industries, Inc. (Rockwool) site is located at 1741 Taylors Valley Road, approximately one mile east of Belton, Bell County, Central Texas. The site occupies approximately 100 acres of land zoned for heavy industrial use. The Rockwool facility operated as a mineral wool insulation manufacturing plant from mid-1950 until February 1987. The site is currently inactive. Rockwool manufactured two types of mineral wool insulation, blow wool and batt wool. Blow wool, which is generally spray-blown into attics and other enclosed spaces to provide thermal insulation, is composed of bulk mineral wool fibers lightly coated with lubricating oil. Batt wool is typically used for wall insulation and consists of mineral wool that is bound with an organic resin and sandwiched into paper.
Known sources of contamination addressed in the Hazard Ranking System scoring package are contaminated soils associated with the South Shot Pile (estimated to contain 20,000 to 30,000 cubic yards of waste), the North Shot Pile (estimated to contain between 15,000 and 25,000 cubic yards of waste), and the Cemetery Shot Pile (waste volume unknown).
Surface water is the major pathway of concern. Chemical analysis of sediment samples in the Leon River and Nolan Creek indicated the presence of inorganics in concentrations above the release criteria. The Leon River is an identified fishery and is subject to Level II concentrations of selenium.
Status (September 1998): EPA plans to begin a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) on the site during the late fall/early winter of 1998.
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.