Southern Pine Wood Preserving is a 5.5 acre site located at 1418 College Avenue, Wiggins, Mississippi. It is located in a residential area and the property is zoned residential. The nearest residence is located within 200 feet of the site. Surface water from the site flows primarily to the south and southwest to Fourmile Creek.
Operations at Southern Pine included impregnating wood products with creosote and pentachlorophenol (PCP). Operations began in 1960 and ceased in 1984. A dilapidated wooded structure is all that remains on site from the wood preserving operation.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MSDEQ) referred the site to EPA in November of 2008. EPA subsequently conducted a Removal Site Evaluation (RSE) to determine if a removal action was warranted. The assessment scope included surface and subsurface sampling, local interviews, and the identification of various environmental and physical hazards at the site.
The RSE revealed significant amounts of source material containing PCP and Polychlorinated Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) at or near the surface on a large portion of the site. Dioxins were also discovered in limited quantities and limited areas of the site. All contaminants were present at concentrations above EPA Region 4 Removal Action Levels (RALs). Based on these concentrations and other conditions at the site documented in the Action Memo, site conditions meet the requirements for initiating a time-critical removal action according to criteria listed in Section 300.415 (b)(2) of the National Contingency Plan (NCP).
ERRS contractor WRS mobilized to the site on September 14, 2009 to begin removal activities. During the week of September 14, 2009, the ERRS removal manager began coordination to receive office trailers on site and heavy equipment on site. Once on site the heavy equipment was used to clear and level an area for the office trailers. Disposal coordination also began during the week. A company was identified to receive the trees and debris produced from clearing activities.
An ERRS crew of 4 mobilized to the site on September 20, 2009. On September 21, 2009 clearing activities began at the site. The suspected former process area was thinned of all undergrowth and small trees to support future sampling activities. The suspected wastewater treatment pond area was cleared to provide access to areas of known contamination and to support future sampling activities in the area. The suspected former laydown yard will be cleared for future sampling activities as well as to provide a laydown yard/soil stockpile area for contaminated soil when soil excavation begins. The remainder of the site will be thinned and sampled to determine extent of contamination prior to being cleared of all trees.
The OSC and START began identifying sampling points for the contamination delineation effort scheduled for next week. Using a Trimble GPS unit, future sample points were marked and recorded for reproduction during the sampling event. A sample location map was also produced from the GPS unit to help identify sample locations in the future.
Site clearing and thinning is expected to continue for an additional week. Once clearing is complete and debris is removed from the site, ERRS will begin excavation of areas of known contamination.
Next week, START will mobilize to the site to conduct a week-long sampling event. Areas to be sampled include the suspected former process area, the suspected former laydown yard, adjacent properties to the south and to the east, Fourmile creek, and the area directly to the south of the nearby residence.
Contamination may extend onto the adjoining property to the south.
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