![[logo] US EPA](http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
NPL Site Narrative for Shaw Avenue Dump
SHAW AVENUE DUMP
Charles City, Iowa
Federal Register Notice: July 22, 1987Conditions at Proposal (September 1985): The Shaw Avenue Dump covers about 8 acres on Shaw Avenue on the east bank of the Cedar River at the southeastern edge of Charles City, Floyd County, Iowa. The city owns the site and operated it as a municipal waste dump. It had no permit. In 1949-53, the dump also accepted arsenic-contaminated waste from Salsbury Laboratories, Inc., an animal pharmaceutical company. Salisbury then began disposing of its waste at the nearby LaBounty Site on the opposite side of the Cedar River. The LaBounty site was placed on the NPL in September 1983.
The Shaw Avenue Dump also received wastes from Charles City waste water treatment plant in 1949-64. Liming sludge from the city's drinking water treatment plant is still disposed of at this site, and the central portion is used by the public and the city as an open burning area. The burning is authorized by the city.
Analyses conducted by Salsbury Laboratories have detected arsenic in an on-site monitoring well. A nearby private drinking water well between the site and the Cedar River may also be contaminated. The City of St. Charles municipal water supply system, which serves 8,800 people, has two wells (185 feet deep) which draw from the Cedar Valley Aquifer within 2 miles of the site.
Status (April 1987): On March 4, 1987, EPA sent letters notifying Salsbury Laboratories and Charles City of their potential responsibility and requesting information. Negotiations for remedial work will begin once the potentially responsible parties respond to the Notice Letters.
Status (July 1987): EPA is considering various alternatives for 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.