McCullough Oil was a former waste oil storage facility. The Site contains over 100 55-gallon drums and 20 ASTs. Many of the drums and tanks contents contain combustible and flammable materials. Also, the hazardous substances’ pH range from 1 to 14. One of the drums tested positive for halogens. It was estimated that 105,000 gallons of waste oil contained in the ASTs required removal to prevent a major waste oil discharge in the future.
The Site is situated on an approximately 8-acre parcel in rural Alabama. The Coosa River and Mitchell Dam are approximately 1.7 miles northeast of the Site property. An unnamed stream southeast of the site is a tributary of the Coosa River and the topography is sloping downward towards the unnamed stream.
In January of 2005, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) became aware of the potential of environmental impact from the release of unsecured materials at McCullough Oil. ADEM also has evidence that suggests that the site is being used for unauthorized disposal by unknown parties.
Since the last Pollution Report, EPA received analytical data from the waste samples collected in November 2006. EPA and Emergency and Rapid Response Services (ERRS) contractor generated waste profiles for the waste on site and evaluated three sub-contract bids for waste disposal. EQ, Inc. was selected as the waste disposal company for the Site.
EPA START and ERRS contractors re-mobilized to the McCullough Oil Site on January 8, 2007. Alabama Department of Environmental Management's (ADEM) Beverly Blagg was also on site overseeing activities. During the week of January 8, 2007 EPA completed the following removal activities:
* START conducted air monitoring for Volatile Organic Compounds and explosive vapors during all site activities. No abnormal levels were detected. START also documented all site activities including maintenance of the log book and site photographic log.
* In preparation for handling the drums and containers, ERRS cleaned debris from the staging area.
* Liquid in approximately 85 55 gallon-drums were vacuumed out and the sludge was removed. The drums were then crushed and put into the sludge boxes.
* 9 tanks were worked on including waste oil removal and some sludge removal.
* An estimated total of 25,000 gallons of waste oil was removed from the tanks and drums. ERRS loaded the waste oil and transferred custody of the waste to EQ, Inc. for final disposal.
The week of January 15, 2007, removal activities will continue. Approximately 15,000 gallons of waste oil are planned on being removed this week. The crew will continue to open tanks and remove the sludge left on the bottom of them.
The tanks are very difficult to access. Many of the tanks are surrounded by trees and have no containment around them.
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