Abstract |
The seven-acre Purity Oil Sales site is in Fresno County, California, one-half mile south of the Fresno city limits. The Purity site operated as a used oil recycling facility from 1934 to the early 1970s. In 1976 a fire destroyed the main warehouse building. Equipment remaining, with the exception of seven steel above-ground storage tanks, was removed from the site, and the area was partially regraded. One of the remaining storage tanks is lined with asbestos. Waste pits filled with soil, debris, and rubble, cover most of the site. The State conducted a remedial investigation in 1982 during which time the EPA Emergency Response Team removed 1,800 cubic yards of hazardous oily and tarry materials from the site. The first of two planned operable units addresses the cleanup of the ground water and the removal and offsite disposal of storage tanks and tank contents. A future Record of Decision will address contaminated soil. The primary contaminants of concern affecting ground water are VOCs including benzene and TCE; and metals. Contaminants of concern in the tank sludge are VOCs including benzene, toluene and xylenes; other organics including PCBs, PAHs, pesticides, and phenols; and metals including lead. |