The Former San Francisco Cleaners Site includes the location of a former dry-cleaning facility located at 1470 Avenida Ashford, Barrio Condado, San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Site is currently a shopping complex with four individual suites rented to various businesses. In September 2021 the Region 2 Special Projects Branch (SPB), Pre-Remedial Section commenced a Site Discovery Initiative to identify potential sources of contamination associated with the use of dry-cleaning solvents and industrial degreaser operations. Sample results indicated elevated concentrations of trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE) in the groundwater, soil, and soil gas at the Site. These concentrations prompted the SPB to request the Removal Program to assist in the performance of an Integrated Assessment (IA), part of which would determine any vapor intrusion impacts of interior spaces at the Site.
In May and June 2023, EPA collected vapor intrusion samples from properties located within a 100-foot radius of the Site. Properties included schools, residential short-term rental units, various businesses, and a place of warship. Indoor air and sub-slab samples were collected in a majority of the subject properties and analyzed for chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs), including PCE and TCE. Sample results were compared to Removal Management Levels of Chemicals (RMLs) and Regional Screening Levels (RSLs), which are risk-based values assigned to exposures of contaminants. Sample results of PCE and TCE, while identified in off-site properties, were not found to be at concentrations of concern. However, sample locations throughout the Site, including several individual suites of the shopping complex, identified concentrations of PCE and TCE above RML and RSL values. Concentrations of PCE were identified above the indoor air health-based screening criteria of 180 µg/m3 with results as high as 338 µg/m3. Concentrations of PCE were identified above the screening criteria of 5,800 µg/m3 in the soil gas, established for commercial properties, with results as high as 1,590,000 µg/m3. Concentrations of TCE were identified above the screening criteria of 290 µg/m3 in the soil gas with results as high as 8,920 µg/m3.
In July 2025 an agreement was made with the property owner allowing EPA to design and install vapor mitigation systems at the Site. A removal action was initiated on July 17, 2025.
To access the Administrative Record for the Site: https://semspub.epa.gov/src/collection/02/AR67991
