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EPA Adds Compass Plaza Well TCE Site in Rogersville, Mo., to Superfund's National Priorities List

Release Date: 03/13/2012
Contact Information: Ben Washburn, (913) 551-7364, washburn.ben@epa.gov

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., March 13, 2012) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is announcing the addition of the Compass Plaza Well TCE Site to the federal Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). An NPL listing notifies the public that EPA believes a site requires further study and cleanup under EPA's Superfund program.

The Compass Plaza Well TCE Site consists of contaminated ground water that has impacted domestic and irrigation wells. The site includes a small cluster of wells in Greene County near Compass Plaza, a commercial area of Rogersville, Mo. In 2010, following routine public drinking water monitoring by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), trichloroethylene (TCE) was detected in the Compass Plaza strip mall drinking water well and at two nearby public wells. Municipal wells belonging to the City of Rogersville are not contaminated with TCE.

TCE is used in industrial solvents and degreasers as well as household products such as correction fluids, paints, paint removers, adhesives, rug cleaners, metal cleaners and spot removers.

People can be exposed to TCE by breathing contaminated air at home or in the workplace; by drinking, swimming or showering in contaminated water; or through contact with contaminated soil. Industrial emissions of TCE stem mostly from metal degreasing plants and steel pipe and tube manufacturing.

The addition of the Compass Plaza Well TCE Site to the NPL makes the site eligible for federal funds to comprehensively investigate and address site contamination. These funds also guarantee the public an opportunity to fully participate in cleanup decisions.

EPA will work to identify companies or people, potentially responsible parties (PRPs), responsible for the contamination at the site, and require them to conduct or pay for the cleanup. If no viable PRPs are found, EPA will investigate the full extent of the contamination before starting significant cleanup at the site.