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Van der Horst USA Site Added to Superfund List

Release Date: 03/02/2010
Contact Information: Dave Bary at 214-665-2200 or r6press@epa.gov

(Dallas, Texas – March 2, 2010) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has added the Van der Horst USA Corporation site in Terrell, Texas, to the National Priorities List of Superfund sites, the EPA announced today.

The Van der Horst USA site, located in a commercial warehouse district, is an inactive chromium and iron plating facility that began operations in the 1950s and operated until December 2006. Finished products associated with these plating operations included natural gas pipeline cylinders for the transportation of natural gas and cylinder bores for large diesel engines such as railroad locomotive engines. As part of the plating operations, the facility generated spent kerosene, wastewater treatment sludge, and chromium contaminated wastewater and soil. When the site was abandoned in April 2007, these wastes remained on-site in two underground sumps, 27 various-sized vats, and 450 55-gallon drums. A residential neighborhood lies less than one mile to the southeast of the facility.

“Cleaning up contaminated sites in Texas is one of the most visible kinds of projects that demonstrate to the public and our government partners the value that the Agency can have,” said EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz. “We are committed to strengthening our work to clean up and revitalize communities.”

In May 2008, a small fire occurred in the main building at the facility and under an emergency action the TCEQ and EPA responded. EPA conducted a short-term cleanup of the site to segregate, classify, and dispose of hazardous wastes. Due to the large amount of waste and groundwater contamination present, the short-term cleanup will not fully remediate the site, making it necessary to add it to the NPL.

The Van der Horst USA site was proposed to the Superfund list in September 2009. Other sites added to the national cleanup list include the following: Salt Chuck Mine, Outer Ketchikan County, Alaska; JJ Seifert Machine Company, Ruskin, Florida; Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp – Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida; Chemetco Site, Madison County, Illinois; Lake Calumet Cluster,The Van der Horst USA site was proposed to the Superfund list in September 2009. Other sites added to the national cleanup list include the following: Salt Chuck Mine, Outer Ketchikan County, Alaska; JJ Seifert Machine Company, Ruskin, Florida; Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp – Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida; Chemetco Site, Madison County, Illinois; Lake Calumet Cluster, Chicago, Illinois; Gratiot County Golf Course, St. Louis, Michigan; Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp – Navassa , Navassa, North Carolina; Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn, New York; and Black Butte Mine, Cottage Grove, Oregon.

More information on the Superfund National Priorities List is available at: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/current.htm

More about activities in EPA Region 6: https://www.epa.gov/region6

EPA audio file is available at https://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/podcast/mar2010.html