The North Little Rock Auto Salvage site is located at 600 Dixie Street in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The site is situated within a mixed commercial and residential area. Commercial facilities are located east, south, southeast, and southwest of the site. The nearest identified residents, single family homes, are located north, northeast, northwest and south of the site, approximately 762 feet, 1,014 feet, 925 feet, and 930 feet, respectively. The North Little Rock Housing Authority, Hemlock Court Apartments is located approximately 0.38 miles west-southwest of the site. The nearest school, the Redwood Early Childhood Center, is located approximately 0.34 miles southwest of the site. An un-named city park is located approximately 0.26 miles northwest of the facility.
Operations at the site prior to 1964 are not known; however, some documentation indicates that vermiculite exfoliation was conducted at the site between 1953 and 1964. U.S. Geological Survey reports for 1970, 1975, 1980, and 1985 also indicate that vermiculite exfoliation occurred at the site. WR Grace purchased the facility in 1964 and began vermiculite exfoliation activities. WR Grace shipping invoices indicate that approximately 85,050 tons of vermiculite were shipped from the Libby, Montana mine to the North Little Rock facility from January 1966 to September 1989.
EPA is in the process of conducting a more in-depth evaluation of this facility in response to an Agency-wide initiative to investigate current and former vermiculite facilities that received vermiculite ore from the W.R. Grace vermiculite mine in Libby, Montana.
On June 21, 2011, a fire broke out at the North Little Rock Auto Salvage. The Arkansas DEQ responded to the fire and contacted OSC Foster to report the situation. EPA dispatched two contract employees from START-Dynamac to immediately assess the situation and conduct air monitoring/sampling.
On February 17, 2012, EPA mobilized to the site along with our ERRS and START contractors, to begin an emergency response action in Conley Park where EPA previously detected one grid (50' X 50') with Libby asbestos (detected at 2%). Excavation of the grid was started on February 18, 2012. Once the grid is excavated, it will be backfilled immediately with clean soil and fresh sod will be placed on the clean soil. EPA expects to be completed with the response by Monday February 20, 2012.
