Valley Park TCE National Priorities List (NPL) Superfund Site, Valley Park, St. Louis County, Missouri - Fact Sheet, September 2019

Public Comment Period EXTENDED for Proposed Plan

INTRODUCTION

• OU-1: Wainwright Remedial Soil
• OU-2: Valley Technologies Soil
• OU-3: Wainwright Remedial Groundwater
• OU-4: Valley Technologies Groundwater and Area-Wide Plume

PROPOSED PLAN

The actions in the Proposed Plan would clean up the contaminated soil within and adjacent to the property formerly owned by Wainwright Industries, Inc. at 224 Benton Street. The Proposed Plan identifies EPA’s Preferred Alternative for OU-1 (Wainwright Remedial Soil) and would modify the existing Record of Decision (ROD), dated Sept. 29, 1994, as modified by the Explanation of Significant Differences, dated April 3, 1996.

The opportunity for public comments on the Proposed Plan has been extended and comments will now be accepted from Aug. 23, 2019, through Oct. 28, 2019.

SITE OVERVIEW

The site is located in the city of Valley Park, Missouri, which is in St. Louis County approximately 15 miles southwest of St. Louis. Valley Park is located in the Meramec River Valley and consists primarily of residential, commercial and industrial buildings with a population of 6,942 (2010 Census). The site consists of two contaminant source areas and an area-wide groundwater plume. The main contaminants of concern are tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE). The site is managed as two separate source areas – the former Wainwright area and the Valley Technologies area.

BACKGROUND

In 1982, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) detected volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including PCE, TCE and 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA), in samples collected from three Valley Park municipal wells. In response to the contamination, the city of Valley Park installed equipment to remove VOCs from drinking water. Since 1988, Valley Park residents have been connected to the St. Louis County public water system. The site was placed on the National Priorities List on June 10, 1986.

EPA and MDNR determined that the sources of contamination originated from a former Wainwright Industries property and a current Valley Technologies, Inc. property located in Valley Park. Wainwright and Valley Technologies both used chlorinated degreasers and solvents (chlorinated organic compounds) to clean metal parts in the production process.

ABOUT PCE AND TCE

PCE and TCE are the primary contaminants of concern at the site. Exposure to PCE poses potential human health hazards to the bladder and bloodstream. EPA considers PCE “likely to be carcinogenic to humans” by all routes of exposure. Exposure to TCE poses potential human health hazards to the central nervous system, kidney, liver, immune system, male reproductive system, and developing fetus. TCE is characterized by EPA as “carcinogenic in humans” by all routes of exposure. Other contaminants of concern at this site include breakdown byproducts of the degradation of PCE and TCE in the environment, such as vinyl chloride and dichloroethene.

SITE CLEANUP

Cleanup actions were defined in RODs for OU-1 and OU-3 in 1994 and for OU-2 in 2001. Both RODs were modified as defined in the 1996 and 2005 Explanation of Significant Differences documents. The remedies for both source areas included the following: excavation of the most highly contaminated soils; soil vapor extraction of soils contaminated at lower levels; and extraction and treatment of contaminated groundwater.

The remedial actions for both RODs have been constructed and implemented. The operation and maintenance of the systems are ongoing.

Wainwright Industries is conducting the cleanup action at their former property, following a consent decree with MDNR. EPA is conducting the cleanup action at the Valley Technologies property.

ADDITIONAL CLEANUP ACTIVITIES

The remedial actions at both the Wainwright source area and the Valley Technologies source area are currently protective of human health and the environment, but additional cleanup is needed to attain long-term site restoration goals. To evaluate these additional cleanup activities, EPA initiated a focused Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) at OU-2 in 2014, and Wainwright initiated a focused RI/FS at OU-1 in 2016.

ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD AND PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD

EPA has compiled the site Administrative Record (AR). The AR is the official record for the site and contains site reports, descriptions of activities, and other documents used to determine the appropriate EPA response actions to take at the site.

EPA has assessed the ability of the public to access the AR file through an internet-based repository and has determined that the local community has this ability. The AR and Proposed Plan are available for review on EPA’s website (see Site Documents & Data) and at this repository during normal business hours:

EPA Region 7 Records Center
11201 Renner Boulevard
Lenexa, KS 66219
1-800-223-0425

EPA CONTACT INFORMATION

Written comments, questions about the Proposed Plan and Sept. 12 Public Meeting, and requests for information can be sent to:

Additional questions or requests for site information can be submitted to:

ADDITIONAL TCE INFORMATION