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U.S. EPA PROPOSES PLAN TO CONTINUE CLEANUP OF OROVILLE SITE

Release Date: 7/22/1997
Contact Information: Lois Grunwald, U.S. EPA, (415) 744-1588

     (San Francisco)-- Continuing with the cleanup of the Western Pacific Railroad Superfund site, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) has proposed a plan to remove soil contaminated with fuel-related chemicals at the Oroville, Calif. site, which is on the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL).

     "A lot of good work has been done by Union Pacific Railroad to remove contamination at this site, and this plan moves us closer to complete the cleanup there," said Keith Takata, U.S. EPA's Superfund director. "This plan, as with other actions taken at the site, will protect the health of the people that still work at the rail yard and live near this site."

     The public is invited to attend a community meeting and comment on the proposed plan on Tuesday, July 29, at 7 p.m. at the Palermo School, 7350 Bulldog Way, Palermo, Calif.
     
     U.S. EPA evaluated the site property and found the greatest concentration of contaminated soil on one acre in a former fueling area. The soil is contaminated with diesel fuel, arsenic, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).  

     The U.S. EPA proposes the removal of one foot of the shallow surface soil or about 6,500 cubic yards. This dirt would be dug up and loaded onto rail cars and transported to an approved landfill in East Carbon, Utah. The excavated area would then be filled with clean dirt.

     Under the plan, Union Pacific Railroad would clean up the site so that it could continue to be used for industrial purposes. However, low levels of contamination would remain and it would not be considered safe for residential use. To ensure that the land is restricted to industrial use, U.S. EPA would require the site owner, Union Pacific Railroad, to sign an enforceable agreement that will ensure that the property is not used for residential purposes.

     Since 1994, Union Pacific Railroad -- under orders from U.S. EPA -- has been cleaning up contaminated soil and pumping and treating a plume of groundwater contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This treated groundwater has been returned to the aquifer. Earlier this year, another well was installed to pump and treat groundwater. Some VOCs are suspected carcinogens.

     The Western Pacific 90-acre site was used to repair, service, and clean railcars and engines from the 1880s to 1982. Union Pacific Railroad bought the property and used it to maintain railcars until 1989. The site is no longer used for rail car maintenance, but daily trains still run on the line.

     The NPL is U.S. EPA's list of hazardous waste sites potentially posing the greatest long-term threat to public health and the environment. U.S. EPA identifies and ranks NPL sites according to threats to nearby populations through actual or potential contamination of groundwater, surface water or air.

     Oral or written comments on the proposed plan must be made
or postmarked by August 15, 1997, and send to:  

     Holly Hadlock, Remedial Project Manager
     U.S. EPA, Mailcode SFD-7-1
     75 Hawthorne St.
     San Francisco, Calif. 94105
     (415) 744-2244

                               
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