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Site Type: Long Term/National Priorities List (NPL)  |  |
DAVIS LIQUID WASTE | |
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Map this site in Cleanups in My Community |
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| Smithfield, Rhode Island |
Providence County
| Street Address: | Tarkiln Road |
| Zip Code: | 02828 |
Congressional
District(s): |
01 |
| EPA ID #: | RID980523070 |
| Site ID #: | 0101283 |
| Site Aliases: |
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| Site Responsibility: | Federal, State, Potentially Responsible Parties |
| NPL LISTING HISTORY |
| Proposed Date | 10/23/1981 |
| Final Date | 09/08/1983 |
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Site Description
The Davis Liquid Waste site is located on approximately 10 acres in a rural section of Smithfield, Rhode Island. Throughout the 1970's, the site accepted liquid and chemical wastes such as paint and metal sludges, oily wastes, solvents, acids, caustics, pesticides, phenols, halogens, metals, fly ash, and laboratory pharmaceuticals. Liquid wastes were transported in drums and bulk tank trucks and were dumped directly into unlined lagoons and seepage pits. The operator periodically excavated the semi-solid lagoon materials, dumped these materials at several locations on the site, and covered them with soil. Other operations included the collection of salvaged vehicles and machine parts, metal recycling, and tire shredding. Dumping activities resulted in soil, surface water, sediment, and groundwater contamination, both on- and off-site. In 1978, the discovery of off-site well contamination prompted the State Superior Court to prohibit further dumping of hazardous substances on the Davis property. The area surrounding the site is residential and the closest homes are located within 1,500 feet of the site. In 1986, there were approximately 240 people living within 1 mile and 4,700 people living within 3 miles of the site. The nearest well is located 300 feet away. The property is bordered on the north and south by wetlands and swamp areas.
Threats and Contaminants
Groundwater contamination consists of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and heavy metals, including arsenic and lead from the lagoons and seepage pit areas. The soil, lagoon sediments, and surface water also are contaminated with VOCs and heavy metals. Residential wells to the north and northeast of the site are contaminated with VOCs. People could be exposed to contaminants by ingesting contaminated groundwater, coming into contact with contaminated soils on-site, or by inhaling chemicals that evaporate from the soil or surface water. Portions of the bordering wetlands have been filled with tires and waste material, resulting in large areas of stressed wetland vegetation.
Cleanup Approach
The site is being addressed in two stages: initial removal actions (i.e., drum removal activities), and long-term remedial activities (i.e., actions focusing on the provision of a new water supply line and cleanup of the soil and groundwater at the site).
Response Action Status
| Initial Action | From 1985 to 1986, the EPA sampled, packed, and staged approximately 600 intact and crushed drums and shipped them off-site to an approved disposal facility. At the same time, bottled water for drinking and cooking was supplied by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) to residences with contaminated wells. This temporary action provided a safe water supply while a permanent remedy was being evaluated.
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| Water Supply Line | The construction of a new water distribution system serving 127 lots along Forge Road, Log Road, Burlingame Road, and Bayberry Road was completed by EPA and RIDEM in December of 1997. The new system included construction of a 300,000-gallon water storage tank, a water main, pumping stations, and connections to existing residences. For several undeveloped lots, EPA also brought a service connection up to the property line so that future connections may take place at the owner's expense.
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| Soil Remedy | The final soil cleanup remedy selected in the 1987 Record of Decision (ROD) called for excavating approximately 25,000 cubic yards of raw waste and contaminated soils for on-site treatment using thermal desorption. Treated soil would be tested and clean soil will be used to backfill excavated areas. In November of 1996, a Consent Decree negotiated between the EPA and 54 Settling Parties was lodged with the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island. The Consent Decree among other things included a work based component requiring the Settling Parties to perform the soil cleanup at the site. In March of 1997, the Settling Parties began performing the work described in the CD, focusing their initial efforts on the removal of tires from areas of the site which were believed to be contaminated. Between March of 1997 and August of 1999, it was estimated that approximately 1.4 million tires were removed from the site. An additional 5 million tires were removed by the State of Rhode Island from other portions of the site. The last of the tires were removed in December 2000. Throughout the tire removal efforts, partially and fully buried drums were encountered. Drums which were among the tires were removed and over-packed while buried drums were left to be addressed as part of a subsequent drum removal effort. Work on the buried drums began in July 1997 and continued intermittently until December 2000. During the drum and laboratory container removal activities, over 1,400 drums and 15,000 laboratory containers were excavated, repackaged, and disposed of off-site. In addition, over 5,000 tons of a mixture of municipal solid waste and soil were taken off-site for disposal.
The second phase of the soil cleanup activities began in October 1999 with the initiation of soil treatment activities at the site. Soil treatment consisted of the excavation and thermal and mechanical treatment of contaminated soils within two large buildings at the site. Each batch of soil underwent treatment for several days until cleanup standards were met. A sampling and analytical program involving both an on-site and off-site laboratory was used to verify that the ROD-specified soil cleanup standards were met for each batch of soil. After treatment, the soil was used to backfill excavated areas. Soil treatment was completed in April of 2001. During the cleanup, over 78,000 tons of soil were treated on-site and another 20,000 tons of soil and miscellaneous wastes were shipped off-site for treatment and disposal.
After completion of the soil treatment phase, the buildings were decontaminated and dismantled. Many treated and untreated areas of the site required additional fill to reach the final grade. Once graded, the entire disturbed area was covered with a 6-inch layer of topsoil. The disturbed areas were then planted with grass and over 500 trees to help stabilize the site and restore the wildlife habitat value. The tree planting consisted mainly of native species ranging in size from small saplings to large established plants. The overall cost of the soil cleanup incurred by the Settling Parties was approximately $24 million.
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| Groundwater Remedy - 2010 ROD Amendment | The original, 1987 ROD selected remedy for groundwater was meant to address the contamination remaining in both the shallow and deeper aquifers beneath the site through extraction and on-site treatment of contaminated groundwater. In order to determine the most appropriate way to implement this last component of the overall site cleanup, monitoring of the groundwater contamination was required over several years following the completion of the soil cleanup remedy in 2001. This monitoring data was collected to provide further information needed to finalize the design of the groundwater extraction and treatment system or potentially change the groundwater remedy. EPA, using the past several years of groundwater monitoring data, recently prepared a focused feasibility study which evaluated the original 1987 and several new groundwater cleanup approaches for the site. In September 2010, EPA issued a ROD Amendment which documented a change in the groundwater remedy for the site from extraction and treatment to in-situ treatment.
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| Enforcement Highlights | Discovery of off-site well contamination in 1978 resulted in the State Superior Court banning dumping on the site. EPA obtained a Court Order to gain access to the site. The Department of Justice prepared a motion for "conditional" site access to be entered in the Rhode Island Federal Court. The site owner resisted attempts by Federal officials to investigate the site for cleanup and continued to conduct business operations within 100 feet of the hazardous dumping site. The State of Rhode Island entered into an agreement with the site owner in late 1994 for the removal of an estimated 10 to 30 million tires stored at the site. The owner complied with the order during 1995 but, during 1996, was unable to meet the quarterly quota for tire removal. Since 1997, the State of Rhode Island funded the removal of additional tires from the site. Tire removal activities were completed by the State in December of 2000 at which time it was estimated that 6 million tires in total were removed from the site. |
Environmental Progress
Removing drums reduced the potential for exposure to hazardous substances at the Davis Liquid site. The completion of the alternative water supply and soil cleanup further protects human health by reducing the potential for exposure to hazardous substances while additional cleanup activities are being planned and conducted.
Current Site Status
With completion of soil cleanup, EPA has been focusing its efforts over the past several years on monitoring the groundwater contamination beneath the site. The monitoring will provide EPA and RIDEM with the information it needs to finalize the design of the groundwater extraction and treatment system. The first phase of monitoring was completed during the Fall 2001. A second round of groundwater monitoring, which involved the installation of additional wells and an expanded groundwater monitoring program, was completed during the summer of 2003. A report on the results of this groundwater monitoring was submitted in July 2004. A third phase of groundwater monitoring was conducted in 2004 to identify any seasonal changes in the concentrations of contaminants in the groundwater beneath the site. Additional wells were installed in November 2005 to further clarify the extent of contamination. During the Summer of 2006, a report was submitted by the PRPs for EPA and RIDEM review regarding the groundwater fate and transport modeling undertaken at the site using the 2001-2005 groundwater results. EPA and RIDEM reviewed this report and subsequently prepared a focused feasibility study which resulted in a Record of Decision (ROD) Amendment in September 2010. The ROD Amendment documents the change in the groundwater cleanup approach for the site. Since issuance of the ROD Amendment, EPA and RIDEM have negotiated a Consent Decree with the PRPs to perform the required work and work plans have been established to start the initial phases of the pre-design investigations in 2012 for eventual implementation of the amended groundwater remedy approach in 2013-2014.
Site Photos
Links to Other Site Information
Newsletters & Press Releases:
Federal Register Notices:
Administrative Records:
Reports and Studies:
Decision Documents:
Other Links:
Site Repositories
Greenville Public Library, 573 Putnam Pike, Greenville, RI 02828
OSRR Records and Information Center, 1st Floor, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 100 (HSC), Boston, MA 02109-3912 (617) 918-1440
Contacts
| EPA Remedial Project Manager: | Ginny Lombardo |
| Address: | US Environmental Protection Agency
5 Post Office Square, Suite 100
Mail Code: OSRR07-3
Boston, MA 02109-3912 |
| Phone #: | 617-918-1754 |
| E-Mail Address: | Lombardo.Ginny@epa.gov |
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| EPA Community Involvement Coordinator: | Sarah White |
| Address: | US Environmental Protection Agency
5 Post Office Square, Suite 100
Mail Code: ORA20-1
Boston, MA 02109-3912 |
| Phone #: | 617-918-1026 |
| E-Mail Address: | white.sarah@epa.gov |
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| State Agency Contact: | Gary Jablonski |
| Address: | 235 Promenade Street
Providence, RI 02908-5767 |
| Phone #: | 401-222-2797 x 7148 |
| E-Mail Address: | gary.jablonski@dem.ri.gov |
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