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U.S. EPA WILL EXCAVATE DDT-CONTAMINATED FILL NEAR TORRANCE

Release Date: 4/7/1995
Contact Information: Paula Bruin, U.S. EPA, (415) 744-1587

     (San Francisco)--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(U.S. EPA) today announced its decision that excavating all the
remaining contaminated soil in the fill area and cleaning the
homes is the best long-term solution to the pesticide
contamination that has been found in a residential neighborhood
near Torrance, Calif.

     "We had extensive discussions with the community about the
best way to protect the neighborhood," said Jeff Zelikson, U.S.
EPA's regional hazardous waste management division director.
"While several possibilities were discussed, complete excavation
gives the best health protection for the residents.  We will
continue to work closely with this community and keep them
involved and informed on our actions now and in deciding on the
cleanup actions that must be undertaken at the Del Amo and
Montrose Superfund sites."

     U.S. EPA will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, April 18,
1995, at 6 p.m. at the Van Deene School Auditorium, 826 Javelin
St., Torrance, Calif., to discuss the excavation activities and
to hear the community's concerns about how the work will be
conducted.

     U.S. EPA will excavate all of the fill which is contaminated
with DDT, a pesticide.  The contamination may extend accross the
backyards of six homes on West 204th Street.  After the
excavation is completed, U.S. EPA contractors will clean the
homes and test for DDT dust before the families return.

     This will complete the work that began in March 1994 when
high levels of DDT were first found in the neighborhood.  The
community is located between the Montrose and Del Amo Superfund
sites.

     The proposed Del Amo Pits Superfund site was a rubber
manufacturing facility from the mid-1940s through the early
1970s, and wastes from the facility were disposed of in pits,
which are contaminated with volatile and semi-volatile organic
compounds.  DDT was manufactured at the 13-acre Montrose facility
from 1947 to 1982.
                                                 
     U.S. EPA proposed the Del Amo site be added to the Superfund
National Priorities List (NPL) in July 1991.  Montrose was added
to the NPL in October, 1989.  The NPL is the U.S. EPA's list of
hazardous waste sites potentially posing the greatest long-term
threat to public health and the environment.

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