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NPL Site Narrative for Arlington Blending & Packaging
ARLINGTON BLENDING & PACKAGING CO.
Arlington, Tennessee
Federal Register Notice: July 22, 1987Conditions at proposal (January 22, 1987): Arlington Blending and Packaging Co. operated on 2.5 acres in southwest Tennessee in Arlington, Shelby County, from the 1950s to 1979. The site is along the south side of State Route 1. A small residential area borders the site to the east.
The plant handled endrin, aldrin, dieldrin, chlordane, heptachlor, lindane, methyl parathion, and thimet in its pesticide formulating and packaging operations. When the site was abandoned for economic reasons, deteriorating bags of pesticides and between 1,000 and 1,200 55-gallon drums, many leaking, remained in a building, according to the State.
In the mid-1970s, because of violations of the Clean Water Act, the State took enforcement actions against the company to reduce pesticide contamination from tributaries leading to the Loosahatchie River Canal, which is 7,100 feet from the site in the most probable drainage route. In response, the company hired a contractor to perform sampling and submitted a report that the Tennessee Department of Public Health approved in 1976.
In 1979, after the Tennessee Division of Water Quality Control sampled the site and an adjacent housing development, the State recommended that the developer install a fence between the homes and the plant and apply 1-2 inches of clean topsoil in the backyards of the two homes closest to the plant. In 1980-83, the owner of Arlington Blending removed some pesticide wastes from the site.
In August 1983, EPA discovered high concentrations of various pesticides in on-site soils and the housing development. In October 1983, using CERCLA emergency funds, EPA removed 3,500 gallons of chemicals from drums, collected debris, and excavated 1,920 cubic yards of contaminated surface soils both on and off the site. All materials were transported to regulated disposal facilities.
In 1985, the State detected pesticides in a shallow monitoring well on the site. About 2,700 people draw drinking water from two water systems within 3 miles of the site. The systems serve the communities of Arlington and Gallaway. An Arlington well is within 1,200 feet of the site.
Underlying the site are three water-bearing zones that are used as drinking water sources and that have the potential for contamination from pesticide residues remaining at the site. The upper zone is contaminated with chlordane and other pesticides, according to the State. The three zones are normally separated by low-permeability clay layers. However, "windows" may be present, providing a potential route for contaminants to migrate to the lowest, most prolific water-bearing zone.
The site is in the floodplain of the Loosahatchie River Canal. The probable drainage route from the site leads to the canal, which is used for recreational activities.
Status (July 22, 1987): The Department of Justice on behalf of EPA has filed an action to recover the costs of EPA's removal action from several companies that arranged for disposal of hazardous substances at the 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.