Abstract |
The Cleve Reber site is located in Ascension Parish between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana. Originally a burrow pit for the construction of a local highway, it was subsequently used as a landfill for both municipal and industrial waste. There are an estimated 6,400 drums buried at shallow depths on this 24.6 acre site. The site ties within a 100 year flood plain and the area surrounding the site may fall within the wetlands classification. The site currently contains four surface water ponds. Between 1970 and 1974, it was used as a landfill for both municipal and industrial waste. No records of the waste received at the site are available. The wastes were reportedly segregated into municipals, chemical waste piles and landfilled. Numerous drums containing chemical wastes were buried onsite. Volatile chemical wastes during handling and disposal reportedly resulted in nausea and illness to the landfill employees. In 1974, the site was abandoned and in 1979 declared an abandoned hazardous waste site by the State. In 1983, the State fenced in the site due to local concern; and in July 1983, EPA conducted an emergency removal. |