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Land Treatment at the Scott Lumber Company Superfund Site, Alton, Missouri

Site Name:

Scott Lumber Company Superfund Site

Location:

Alton, Missouri

Period of
Operation:

December 1989 to September 1991

Cleanup
Type:

Full-scale cleanup

Vendor:

Christina Consentini
Remediation Technologies, Inc. (ReTeC)
1001 S. 24th Street, W., Suite 105
Billings, MT 59102
(406) 652-7481

Technology:
Land Treatment - Construction of land treatment area included a clay liner and berms, run-on swales, and subsurface drainage system - Retention pond and irrigation system - Treatment performed using two lifts of soil - Indigenous microorganisms used to support biodegradation - Nutrients added to Lift No. 1; none added to Lift No. 2 - Cultivated once every two weeks

Cleanup Authority:
CERCLA (removal action) - Action memorandum date: 7/10/87 - Fund Lead

SIC Code:
2491B (Wood Preserving -
using Creosote)
Point of Contact:
Bruce A. Morrison
Remedial Project Manager
U.S. EPA - Region 7
Emergency Planning and Response Branch
25 Funston Road
Kansas City, KS 66115
(913) 551-7755

Contaminants:
Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) - PAH concentrations were measured as high as 0.326 mg/kg in lagoon water, 12,400 mg/kg in sludge, and 63,000 mg/kg in soils - Benzo(a)pyrene ranged from 16 to 23 mg/kg at initiation of treatment

Waste Source:
Surface Impoundment/Lagoon; Spill

Type/Quantity of Media Treated:
Soil - 15,961 tons of soil treated in two lifts - Classified as sand per USDA system - Approximately 4% of soil passes a No. 200 sieve

Purpose/Significance of Application:
This was one of the early applications of land treatment at a Superfund site contaminated with creosote compounds.

Regulatory Requirements/Cleanup Goals:
- Action levels in soil were established for total PAHs at 500 mg/kg and for benzo(a)pyrene at 14 mg/kg - Total PAHs was defined as the sum of 16 specific PAH constituents

Results:
- Land treatment achieved specified action levels for PAHs and benzo(a)pyrene - Lift No. 1 - Total PAHs reduced from 560 to 130 mg/kg, and BAP from 16 to 8 mg/kg, in 6 months of treatment - Lift No. 2 - Total PAHs reduced from 700 to 155 mg/kg and BAP from 23 to 10 mg/kg, in 3 months of treatment

Cost Factors:
- Total Costs for Removal Action - approximately $4,047,000 (including $1,292,000 for the land treatment contractor (over 3 years), $254,000 for laboratory analyses, EPA contractors and EPA oversight)

Description:
From 1973 to 1985, the Scott Lumber Company, located near Alton, Missouri, operated a wood treating facility used to preserve railroad ties with a creosote/diesel fuel mixture. As a result of these operations, soil at the site was found to have been contaminated with polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at concentrations as high as 63,000 mg/kg. An Action Memorandum was signed in July 1987, which specified the construction and operation of a land treatment unit (LTU) as a removal action for treatment of PAH-contaminated soils at the site. Cleanup activities were performed in three phases. The first two phases involved decontamination and removal of surface debris and sludge at the site and excavation and stockpiling of contaminated soil at the site. Phase III involved on-site land treatment of the contaminated stockpiled soil.

Land treatment was performed from December 1989 through September 1991, and 15,961 tons of soil were treated during this application. Stockpiled soil was placed in the LTU in two lifts. Approximately 200 lbs per acre of ammonium phosphate fertilizer were added to the first lift to adjust the nutrients in the soil. No nutrient adjustments were made to the second lift. Each lift was cultivated once or twice a week and irrigated, as necessary, to maintain a moisture content between 1% and 4%.

Action levels for the soil at the site, established by EPA, were 14 mg/kg for benzo(a)pyrene (BAP) and 500 mg/kg for total PAHs. Land treatment at the Scott Lumber site reduced levels of BAP and total PAHs to below action levels. In Lift 1, BAP concentrations were reduced from 16 mg/kg to 8 mg/kg and total PAH concentrations were reduced from 560 mg/kg to 130 mg/kg within 6 months. In Lift 2, concentrations were reduced from 23 mg/kg to 10 mg/kg for BAP and from 700 mg/kg to 155 mg/kg for total PAHs within 3 months. The total costs for this removal action were $4,047,000, including $1,292,000 for the land treatment contractor and $254,000 for laboratory analyses. Site demobilization was completed in September 1991.