On July 14, 2023, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) responded to a report of a chemical fire at 1919 South
Sand Hill Road in Burrton, Kansas. EPA On-Scene Coordinators (OSCs) found a
smoldering pit containing at least 50 burned containers.
EPA monitored the air in real time and
identified volatile organic compounds (VOCs) within the smoke plume. However,
VOCs were not detected at elevated levels away from the burn
pit, indicating widespread impacts were not present at that time. Additionally,
an estimated 577 unburned containers were staged near the burn pit.
EPA oversaw response actions conducted
by the Potentially Responsible Party (PRP) to stabilize the incident and
relocate the containers into an on-site storage building.
On August 18, 2023, EPA and the PRP
entered into a settlement agreement obligating the PRP to conduct assessment
and cleanup actions at the site. Under this settlement agreement, the PRP will
assess and dispose of the remaining containers; assess and clean up soil in and
around the burn pit; and assess and remediate (if necessary) drinking water
wells in the area. All of these activities will be done under EPA oversight.
On November 7, 2023, the PRPs' contractor conducted excavation of the
burn pit. Once the containers and most of the ash were removed from the pit,
the PRPs' contractor and EPA's contractor collected soil samples for VOCs,
semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), and metals from the base of the
excavation. These samples will be used to establish what contaminants of
concern were present in the burn pit. Soil was then excavated from the base and
sidewalls of the pit. Field screening of soil was conducted with a
photoionization detector (PID) to establish the extent of excavation.
Soil was also scraped in the area around the pit and the former
container staging area north of the pit. Waste from the pit and surrounding
area is being stored in plastic-lined roll-off containers on-site. The PRPs’
contractor collected samples from the roll-off containers to characterize the
waste for disposal. Orange safety fence was installed around the pit as a
temporary barrier until the pit can be backfilled. The roll-offs containing impacted soil from the pit were transported off-site for disposal on January 8, 2024.
During excavation, the PRPs' contractor conducted air monitoring for
VOCs at the excavation and approximately 200 feet downwind of the excavation.
EPA's contractor also conducted air monitoring at the excavation site. No
exceedances were noted by EPA or the PRPs' contractor.
On November 8, 2023, the unburned containers were packaged for
transportation off-site. The containers
were transported off-site for disposal on November 17, 2023.
On January 18, 2024, EPA oversaw confirmation sampling of the base and sidewalls of the burn pit by the PRPs' contractor. EPA also oversaw sampling of the PRPs proposed backfill source for the burn pit. Samples were collected for VOCs, SVOCs, and metals. Sample results were compared to established removal management levels (RMLs) for the soil to groundwater pathway. The sample results indicated that all contaminants of concern (COCs) were below the established RMLs; therefore, no additional excavation was needed prior to backfilling the burn pit. On February 16, 2024, the burn pit was backfilled with clean soil.
On January 30, 2024, the PRP conducted drinking water well sampling of seven wells identified within one-half mile of the burn pit. Samples were collected for VOCs and SVOCs. The laboratory hold time was exceeded for the SVOCs samples collected during this event. As a result, on March 6, 2024, the PRP mobilized to resample the wells for SVOCs. Based on the laboratory results for the January 30, 2024 and March 6, 2024 sampling events, no contaminants of concern were detected in the drinking water wells at concentrations exceeding RMLs. Thus, no response action is expected for the drinking water wells in the area.
No additional on-site activities are anticipated at this time.
Per the settlement agreement, the PRP is required to provide a Final Report documenting the work that has been performed. Once the Final Report has been approved and the EPA determines that all work has been fully performed in accordance with the settlement agreement, the EPA will then provide a Notice of Completion to the PRP.
