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Fact Sheet
March 2010
Fourth Five-Year Review Begins, LaBounty Site, Floyd County, Iowa
INTRODUCTION
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducts regular five-year reviews on Superfund sites where cleanups have been completed. These reviews are required by the Superfund law [42 U.S.C. § 9621(c)]. EPA Region 7 has initiated the fourth five-year review of the LaBounty Site in Floyd County, Iowa. The site occupies approximately eight acres on the western edge of the Cedar River in the city of Charles City, Iowa.
Site Background
From 1953 to 1977 Salsbury Laboratories, Inc., a manufacturer of veterinary pharmaceuticals, disposed of sludge containing various compounds and metals on the site. This disposal resulted in the contamination of a shallow groundwater aquifer that connects to the Cedar River. Investigations by EPA and the Iowa Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ) in 1977 and 1978 revealed that waste components were being leached and transported from the disposal site by groundwater to the Cedar River.
In 1977 IDEQ issued an Administrative Order that required the owner, Salsbury Laboratories, Inc., to prevent runoff, cease operations, and submit a plan for remediation of the site. Salsbury Laboratories, Inc. installed a groundwater monitoring system in 1979, and in 1980 constructed a cover comprised of clay, gravel, and vegetation over the chemical fill. Capping of the chemical fill reduced the leaching of wastes located above the water table. However, the cover over the waste was not effective in reducing pollutant leaching where wastes were placed below the water table.
In 1983, the site was placed on the National Priorities List (NPL). In 1985, EPA and the potentially responsible party (PRP), Salsbury Laboratories, Inc., entered into an Administrative Order on Consent to further address remediation of the waste onsite.
Between 1985 and 1986, under EPA oversight, Salsbury Laboratories, Inc., installed a subsurface groundwater diversion wall upgradient of the chemical fill. The purpose of the subsurface diversion wall was to provide a barrier between the clean groundwater and the chemical waste fill, and to allow the groundwater to flow around the chemical fill material with uncontaminated groundwater flowing into the Cedar River.
In 1989, Salsbury Laboratories, Inc. merged with Solvay Veterinary, Inc. to form Solvay Animal Health, Inc. Solvay Animal Health, Inc. later became known as Fort Dodge Animal Health, a division of American Home Products Corporation. Fort Dodge Animal Health then became Wyeth. In October 2009, Wyeth was acquired by Pfizer, Inc. The PRP, Pfizer, continues to sample groundwater monitoring wells onsite, and conducts surface water sampling upstream and downstream of the site in the Cedar River. The LaBounty Site was deleted from the NPL in 1993.
Five-Year Review
Five-year reviews were conducted on this Site in 1992, 2000, and 2005. In each review, the site was determined to be protective of human health and the environment. During this fourth five-year review, EPA will evaluate the deed restrictions on the property, inspect the site, and study site files and information to make sure the remedy continues to be protective. We encourage the community to tell us about site conditions or any concerns.
At the end of the review, a final report will be prepared and will be available in the site information repositories. The goal is to complete the review and report in May 2010.
Additional Information
Detailed site information is available at the following locations:
Charles City Public Library
106 Milwaukee
Charles City, Iowa
EPA Region 7 Records Center
901 North Fifth Street
Kansas City, Kansas
If you have questions or need additional information on the LaBounty Site or the five-year review process, please contact:
Fritz Hirter
Community Involvement Coordinator
EPA Region 7
901 North Fifth Street
Kansas City, Kansas 66101
913-551-7130
Toll free: 1-800-223-0425
E-mail: hirter.fritz@epa.gov