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NPL Site Narrative for Whitehouse Oil Pits
WHITEHOUSE OIL PITS
Whitehouse, Florida
Federal Register Notice: September 8, 1983Conditions at listing (October 1981): The Whitehouse Oil Pits Site is in the suburban community of Whitehouse, Duval County, Florida, about 10 miles west of downtown Jacksonville. The 5-acre site, established in 1958, provided seven pits for waste oil and acid sludges generated by the Allied Petroleum Co., a waste oil recycler. The pits were abandoned in 1968, when Allied declared bankruptcy. After assuming ownership of the property by tax default, the City of Jacksonville installed and operated a treatment and dewatering system at the oil pits. In 1976, the dike around one of the pits ruptured, spilling 200,000 gallons of wastes into wetlands along McGirts Creek. Using $315,000 made available under Section 311 of the Clean Water Act, EPA cleaned up the site. During the cleanup, EPA determined that the highly acidic water, sludges, and waste oil in the pits contained PCBs and heavy metals. EPA also upgraded the treatment system, which the city then used to reduce the effluent PCBs to an acceptable level. The pits were dewatered, packed with various drying materials, and capped. The treatment system was dismantled, and drainage ditches were dug to control ground water in the area. Final monitoring of the test wells and drainage effluents showed low levels of chlorinated organics, heavy metals, and acids.
Status (July 1983): In June 1982, EPA awarded a $306,400 Cooperative Agreement to Florida for: (1) work on the site ditches and dikes to control leachate, (2) a remedial investigation, and (3) a feasibility study to identify alternatives for remedial action at the site. The work is scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of 1983.
EPA identified parties potentially responsible for wastes at the site and is seeking their cooperation in the cleanup.
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.