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NPL Site Narrative for Cabot/Koppers
CABOT/KOPPERS
Gainesville, Florida
Federal Register Notice: September 21, 1984Conditions at listing (September 1983): The Cabot/Koppers Site covers about 38 acres in Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida. The Cabot portion covers about 25 acres; the Koppers portion, adjacent on the west, covers the remainder. Both Cabot Corp. and Koppers Co., Inc. are still on-going businesses. Over the years, the two companies built an unknown number of settling ponds for holding process wastes containing phenols and coal tar products. In 1966, Cabot sold its property to a new owner, who, in 1967, dumped the contents of two of the ponds into shallow ground water and a ditch leading to Hogtown Creek. Subsequently, local citizens began to complain that clumps of tar were being carried downstream from the site. About two-thirds of Gainesville (population of 81,000) is drained by Hogtown Creek.
Seepage from the ponds over an extended period and subsequent development activity at the site have led to widespread contamination of ground water and surface water. EPA has detected various organics, including aromatic and polynuclear aromatic compounds in ground water and soil. Ground water is contaminated 0.3 mile east and north of the site, and soil 30 feet below the surface is highly contaminated.
Status (June 1984): The State has selected a contractor to conduct a remedial investigation/feasibility study to determine the type and extent of contamination at the site and identify alternatives for remedial action.
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.