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NPL Site Narrative for North Railroad Avenue Plume
NORTH RAILROAD AVENUE PLUME
Espanola, New Mexico
Federal Register Notice: January 19, 1999Conditions at Proposal (July 28, 1998): A plume of contaminated ground water has been identified in Espanola, Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. The precise extent of the plume has not yet been identified; however, based on analyses of ground water from 7 wells, it is approximately 16 acres in area. The primary contaminants detected in the ground water plume are trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, cis-1,2-dichloroethene, and trans-1,2-trichloroethene. Adequate information is not currently available to directly attribute contamination detected at the potential sources to the ground water plume, therefore, the site has been scored based on a contaminated ground water plume with no source identified.
Based on analytical results from various investigations conducted in the town of Espanola, a plume of contaminated ground water at concentrations ranging up to 525 micrograms per liter (ug/L) has been identified. The ground water pathway contamination is of concern because of the documentation of observed releases in ground water (2 public supply wells, 2 private drinking water wells, and 3 monitoring wells) and the fact that the contaminated aquifer is the sole source of drinking water in the area. Two public supply wells displayed concentrations that exceeded health-based benchmarks (cancer risk and/or MCL). Use of these public supply wells were discontinued in December 1989 and January 1990, respectively.
Status (January 1999): EPA is considering various alternatives for this 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.