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 Polycyclic 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).
