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NPL Site Narrative for Dixie Oil Processors, Inc.
DIXIE OIL PROCESSORS, INC.
Friendswood, Texas
Federal Register Notice: October 4, 1989Conditions at proposal (June 24, 1988): The Dixie Oil Processors, Inc. (DOP) Site covers 27 acres along opposite sides of Choate Road in Harris County near Friendswood, south of Houston, Texas. Throughout its history, the site has had several owner/operators. In 1978, DOP, the most recent operator, began converting liquid organic wastes (for example, phenolic tars and glycol cutter stock) generated by various refining, chemical, and petrochemical facilities to creosote, fuel oil extenders, and other petroleum products. In 1984, DOP removed over 6,000 cubic yards of soils contaminated with phenolic tars and transported the material to a regulated hazardous waste facility. Additional wastes and contaminated soils remain on-site. Currently, Dixie stores wastes on-site before transporting them off-site for disposal or recycling.
From approximately 1969 to 1978, Intercoastal Chemical Co. (ICC) and Lowe Chemical Co. (LCC) operated on the site. On the northern tract (leased from LCC), ICC conducted an olefin washing and copper recovery operation. ICC constructed a series of lagoons to recover copper from a waste water stream produced by LCC.
JOC Oil Aromatics, Inc., had a similar business that may have operated from early 1975 until it was sold in 1978 to LCC, the owner of DOP. Buried in at least six closed lagoons are accumulated copper sediment and, allegedly, 500 barrels of a tarry copper catalyst. Leakage from the ponds has affected the quality of shallow ground water to a limited degree. In 1984, DOP detected lead, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and copper in on-site wells. An estimated 140 people obtain drinking water from shallow public and private wells within 3 miles of the site.
Spills from the copper recovery operation have entered nearby Mud Gully and Clear Creek. A subdivision was recently developed to the north of DOP; a Little League baseball field is adjacent to DOP's southwest property line. Both tracts of DOP are contiguous to and southwest of the Brio Refining Co., Inc., Site, which was proposed for the NPL in 1984. On April 23, 1986, the Brio Task Force signed an amended Administrative Order on Consent with EPA under CERCLA Section 106 to conduct a remedial investigation/feasibility study to determine the type and extent of contamination at the Brio and DOP sites and identify alternatives for remedial action.
The facility is being proposed for the NPL because it is classified as a "protective filer" under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and so is not subject to Subtitle C corrective action authorities.
Status (October 1988): A Record of Decision signed on March 31, 1988 requires a limited action/monitoring remedy. Major elements include implementing a site management plan, monitoring existing wells on-site, monitoring Mud Gulley, removing all tanks, semiannual air monitoring, and securing the site.
Status (October 4, 1989): EPA received no comments on this site and so has placed it on the NPL.
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.