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NPL Site Narrative for Gulf Coast Vacuum Services
GULF COAST VACUUM SERVICES
Abbeville, Louisiana
Federal Register Notice: March 31, 1989Conditions at proposal (June 24, 1988): The Gulf Coast Vacuum Services Site covers 12 acres in the south-central section of Louisiana, approximately 2.5 miles southwest of Abbeville, Vermilion Parish. The site is an inactive waste-oil-handling facility. It is 1.5 miles west of the Vermilion River, which flows to the Gulf of Mexico. Adjacent to the northwest portion of the site is the D. L. Mud, Inc., Site, which is also being proposed for the NPL at this time. The two sites were once known as the Galveston-Houston Yard.
The Gulf Coast Vacuum Services Site was owned and operated by G-H Gulfco Services, Inc., from 1960 until 1984, when the company filed for bankruptcy. Allied Bank of Houston was appointed as the trustee. The site is abandoned, unsecured, and has not been appropriately closed.
While the site was operating, oil drilling muds, salt water, and other drilling fluids were placed in three earthen pits. EPA tests conducted in December 1985 found that the pits contain benzene and toluene. On-site soils contain cadmium and chromium.
An average of 20 feet of alluvial terrace deposits overlie the shallow sand aquifer that is used for drinking water and irrigation. Contaminants were placed in pits approximately 14 feet deep, creating the potential for contaminants to move into ground water. Approximately 2,600 people obtain drinking water and about 1,000 acres are irrigated by private wells within 3 miles of the site. Another 9,000 acres are irrigated with surface water, which is potentially threatened.
The site is unfenced, making it possible for people and animals to come into direct contact with hazardous substances.
Status (March 31, 1989): EPA emergency staff has evaluated the site and determined that a removal action is not warranted at this time.
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.