Site Has Good Shot at Superfund List : EPA Evaluates Westminster Neighborhood

A Westminster neighborhood--plagued by an acrid, tarlike sludge that has seeped up into yards from an abandoned underground oil industry waste pit--has a good chance of becoming the second federal Superfund site in Orange County, an EPA official said Monday.

“Based on information we’ve received, the site would qualify for placement on the Superfund’s national priority cleanup list,” said Thomas A. Mix, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s site evaluation acting chief, who visited the site Monday.

Mix based his comments on information collected by the state Department of Health Services, which put the neighborhood of 73 homes east of the San Diego Freeway near Golden West Street on the state’s Superfund cleanup list four months ago.

At that time, state health officials determined that the area presented a “low health risk” to residents, although tests found a suspected carcinogen and some ground water contamination due to toxic chemicals in the Westminster neighborhood.

Mix is leading a 10-person investigative team that arrived Monday for a weeklong series of soil and water tests and air monitoring that will determine whether the site qualifies for a portion of the $8.5 billion in federal Superfund cleanup money. The team has been hired by the EPA to conduct the tests.

The abandoned McColl dump, a former dump for aviation fuel byproducts, drilling muds and other refinery waste in Fullerton, currently is the only site in Orange County on the federal Superfund list.

The EPA expects to issue a preliminary report of its findings from the Westminster neighborhood in June. The report then will be reviewed by EPA examiners, who will determine whether the site is placed on the national priority list, Mix said.

“We’ll know by late summer whether or not the (Westminster) site qualifies,” he said.

Neighborhood residents expressed satisfaction with the arrival of members of the EPA contract team, who walked around the neighborhood in protective suits and masks Monday. However, many have become so accustomed to seeing people in such gear walking around in their back yards that they seemed almost unconcerned.

“I had to sign a lot of papers when they last took samples from my back yard,” resident Edward McNeely said of previous tests by state health officials. “They also went into the street and drilled right through the asphalt. But they haven’t found anything. I think the problem is south of me.”

Results of the state’s testing in the Westminster neighborhood indicated low levels of a benzene, a suspected carcinogen, and two other toxic hydrocarbon solvents, xylene and toluene.

The state then ordered action to remove some of the sludge from the abandoned dump site in order to limit exposure to residents and pets. So far, about 25 drums of the sludge, 55 gallons each, have been removed from the site by a state contractor.

The toxic waste, believed to be oil field wastes deposited from the 1930s through the 1950s, had been dumped into a pit at the site. Some of the wastes later were removed and placed in two large trenches. Then the trenches and the original pit were covered with dirt and concrete. Homes were then built on top of the site.

State health officials have said the Westminster site is unique because the trenches are about 9 to 12 feet below homes.

Residents in about 25 of the 73 homes have reported back-yard seepage and cracking of cement floors in the kitchens, living rooms and patios. Some residents have complained of persistent coughs, which they have attributed to the acrid odors of the sludge, especially during hot summer months.

Many of the residents have complained that they were never warned about the abandoned dump pits by the city or real estate agents before buying homes in the community.

The state, which will assume responsibility for the cleanup, has said the wastes pose no immediate health threat. But health officials have said they are uncertain about what, if any, long-term health effects may be caused by living above the waste site.

To qualify for federal cleanup funds, EPA must review samples of soil, water and air quality measurements to determine the level of threat posed by the seeping waste products.

A score of 28.5 or above on an EPA-scaling system of from 1 to 100 would qualify the Westminster neighborhood for federal funds. The scaling system, referred to as a Mitre Model, takes into account type of chemicals, toxicity, exposure and threat to people, air quality and other determinants, Mix said.

“If it scores less than 28.5, we would probably refer the matter to the state (Department of Health Services),” Mix said.

The EPA has about $8.5 billion to spend on cleanup activities and investigate new toxic sites over a five-year period, Mix said.

Nationwide, there are 802 sites on the national priority list and another 149 that are proposed toxic sites. In California, there are 48 sites on the national priority list and another 15--besides the Westminster site--that are proposed sites.

Mix said inclusion on the federal cleanup list also would mean a “much broader” enforcement effort to find the parties initially responsible for the toxic waste, Mix said.

The state has already spent $250,000 on the Westminster neighborhood for its initial investigation and partial cleanup, said Maxine Richey, who is coordinating the state’s cleanup efforts at the Westminster site.

In addition, Richey said, the state is “already committed” to completing a feasibility study to determine how best to clean up the site. Such a plan could cost the state $5 million, she said.

“We’re committed to this,” she said. “We’ve already told the residents living in this area that we will pay for the initial investigation and remedial plan--whether the site qualifies (for the federal priority list) or not.”

Mix said the testing schedule this week will include:

- Soil sampling today through Thursday at 23 homes. About three to four samples will be taken on each property at depths of 3 to 4 feet.

- Air sampling today through Friday at five locations, including two inside the neighborhood and three outside it.

- Six ground water tests today, including three at existing wells near the neighborhood and three off-site wells to determine whether any contaminants have migrated off the site.

- Surface water samples taken Thursday in a nearby flood control channel. This will include water samples taken at three different locations and three sediment samples to check the soils for contaminants.