User talk:SuperfundRegion9

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Speedy deletion nomination of Pemaco Maywood
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History
The Palos Verdes Shelf (PV Shelf) site is a large area of DDT- and PCB-contaminated sediment located in the ocean off the coast of the Palos Verdes peninsula near Los Angeles, California. The offshore site stretches from Point Fermin in the southeast to Palos Verdes Point in the northwest, a distance of about 15 kilometers. The shelf varies in width from approximately 1 to 6 km, begins in water depths of 30 meters and gently slopes to water depths of approximately 70 to 100 meters, where the shelf breaks. At the shelf break, the slope increases to 13 to 18 degrees, leading to the ocean floor at depths of over 800 meters.

DDT is present in the Palos Verdes sediments largely as a result of wastewater discharges from the former Montrose Chemical Corporation DDT manufacturing plant in Torrance, California, which operated from 1947 to 1983. Wastewater containing significant concentrations of DDT was discharged from the Montrose plant to local sewers and conveyed to the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant (JWPCP) owned and operated by the County Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County. Wastewater from the JWPCP is discharged to the Pacific Ocean through submarine outfalls located off White Point on the Palos Verdes peninsula. It is estimated that over 1,700 tons of DDT were discharged by the JWPCP from the late 1950s to the early 1970s.

PCBs from several sources in the greater Los Angeles area were also discharged into the sewer system and released through the White Point outfalls. Much of the DDT and PCBs released through the outfalls settled out on the ocean floor along with the suspended solids and other contaminants in the JWPCP effluent, forming what is referred to as an effluent-affected sediment layer. The DDT- and PCB-contaminated sediment deposit covers portions of both the continental shelf (the Palos Verdes Shelf) and continental slope off the Palos Verdes peninsula and ranges in thickness from 5 centimeters (cm) to greater than 60 cm. The total volume of the effluent-affected sediment deposit is over 9 million cubic meters, with approximately 70% of this volume on the continental shelf (i.e., in water depths less than 100 m). In its 1994 report, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) characterized an area of 44 km2 (17 sq. miles) on the PVS with elevated levels of DDT and PCBs in surface sediments. Subsequent data showed that the effluent-affected DDT- and PCB- contaminated sediments covered a larger area, and EPA expanded the PVS study area to include sediments from Point Fermin in the southeast to the southern edge of the Redondo canyon, northwest of the Palos Verdes peninsula. EPA's evaluation of potential cleanup actions is focusing on the areas of highest contamination.

Historically, the waters of the Palos Verdes Shelf have been used extensively by both sport and commercial fishermen. Sport fishermen angle from party boats, private boats, rocky intertidal areas and sandy beaches. Other activities in this coastal area include boating, swimming, windsurfing, surfing, scuba diving, snorkeling and shellfishing.

Contaminants and Risks
The area of highest DDT and PCB contamination in sediment is located roughly 2 km offshore and extends westward from the outfalls approximately 5 km along the shelf. Because the most significant discharges of DDT and PCBs to the Palos Verdes Shelf ceased in the early 1970s, the most contaminated sediments have gradually been covered over, primarily by solids discharged through the outfalls and by solids eroded from the nearby Portuguese Bend landslide area. The depth in the sediment column to the maximum concentration of DDT is greater than 40 cm on parts of the shelf but is commonly less than 10 cm on the slope. The maximum concentration of DDT exceeds 200 ppm near the outfall pipes; concentrations in excess of 50 ppm extend up to 4 km to the west of the outfalls. The distribution of PCBs follows a similar pattern, although concentrations are about an order of magnitude lower than the DDT.

While DDT and PCBs at the site do not pose a risk for swimming and other types of water contact recreation, they are present at unsafe levels in some fish. California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has issued health warnings for consumption of certain fish off Palos Verdes and other Southern California sites because of elevated DDT and PCB levels. These have been included in the California sport fishing regulations since March 1992. In 1990, the California Department of Fish and Game closed commercial fishing of white croaker on the Palos Verdes Shelf and nearby areas due to health risks posed by DDT and PCB contamination. Commercial fishing for other species of fish is permitted. A 1997 study by Heal the Bay of contaminant levels in commercially sold white croaker raised serious questions about the effectiveness of the fishing ban in terms of both the area closed and enforcement of the ban. In 1998, the Department of Fish and Game established a bag limit for white croaker to address the concern that sport fishermen may be illegally selling their white croaker catch to markets.

Investigation and Clean Up
In 1990, the federal and state natural resource trustees began a natural resource damage assessment for the Southern California Bight, which includes the Palos Verdes Shelf. Following a review of the Trustees' 1994 expert reports, EPA in July 1996 initiated a Superfund non-time critical removal action to evaluate the need for and feasibility of actions to address human health and ecological risks. In July 1997, EPA completed the Screening Evaluation of Response Actions for Contaminated Sediment on the Palos Verdes Shelf.

Since 1997, the EPA has implemented a control program with three major elements: public outreach and education, fish monitoring, and enforcement. The fish monitoring program involves sampling both fish in the ocean and fish in retail markets. The MSRP and EPA completed the ocean fish sampling program in July 2007. EPA utilized the data to update the risk assessments for the site. EPA and the public are currently awaiting the State of California to update the existing fish advisory based on the recent data. EPA continues to sample white croakers at local markets. The first phase effort started in 2004. Finally, EPA is working with the local county health departments on marketplace inspection. EPA will be working with the California Department of Fish and Game to enhance enforcement of the white croaker commercial fishing ban off Palos Verdes peninsula and the daily catch limit on white croaker for noncommercial anglers.

Currently, the EPA is its 5th year of full implementation of the public outreach and education program. The EPA created the Fish Contamination Education Collaborative (FCEC), as a mechanism for drawing interested agencies, groups and community based organizations together to design and implement a community based outreach program to address the health risks from eating contaminated fish related to the Palos Verdes Shelf site. The current program focus is to measure risk reduction through the ICs program implementation. EPA, with assistance from all stakeholders, put together a draft roadmap for the Institutional Controls Program which outlines the numeric objectives and associated strategies and tactics for the program.

Four investigation studies were done during 2004. EPA prepared a Proposed Plan that presents the remedial alternatives, and identifies EPA’s preferred alternative for the PV Shelf site. The Proposed Plan has been mailed to the site mailing list and posted on the website. EPA has met informally with interested community groups. The EPA sought public comment on the Proposed Plan from June 15 thru July 15, 2009, and a response to comments (Responsiveness Summary) will be included with the Record of Decision.

EPA initiated its work on the Palos Verdes Shelf as a non-time-critical removal action and is implementing the institutional controls program under that authority. EPA continued with the evaluation of ecological risks and sediment cleanup activities such as capping under its remedial program authority. The cleanup decision will be documented in a Record of Decision, supported by the remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS).