Background/ History
The International Paper Co. site is located on 98 acres at 2609 S. Rangeline Road in Joplin. Around the turn of the century, the site was largely used for underground lead and zinc mining. In 1937, Long-Bell Lumber Co. and American Lumber & Treating Co. purchased part of the property from Rex Mining and began wood treating operations at the facility. Long-Bell eventually purchased the entire property and continued operations until about 1956, when International Paper acquired the facility. International Paper continued wood treating operations at the Joplin facility until March 2006.
International Paper treated exclusively with creosote until 1955, when pentachlorophenol, or PCP, was first used on a limited basis. The percentage of wood treated with PCP dissolved in wood treating oil steadily increased until 1979, when PCP completely replaced creosote as the treatment solution. Two on-site solid waste landfills were used to dispose of treated and untreated wood, as well as assorted metal. Waste products produced as part of the facility operations were discharged to 11 unlined surface impoundments. These surface impoundments were used for long-term storage of creosote sludges, recovery of PCP-oil emulsion and tank bottom sediments. Sludges produced from the treatment of wastewaters from creosote and/or PCP wood preserving processes are classified as K001 hazardous waste and are regulated under Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, or RCRA. International Paper operated the surface impoundments under the “interim status” portions of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
Cleanup Summary
International Paper deactivated and covered one surface impoundment in 1971 and another in 1980. Because International Paper covered the two surface impoundments before RCRA was implemented, those units were regulated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, or CERCLA. On June 14, 1984, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources placed the two inactive surface impoundments on the Registry of Confirmed Abandoned or Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste Sites in Missouri.
Abandoned mine cave-ins, which were capped in 1985, existed beneath the surface impoundments, resulting in groundwater contaminated with PCP, naphthalene, fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene and other hazardous constituents. The nine remaining surface impoundments were taken out of active service in 1984 and closed in 1986. The contaminated soil from the impoundments was excavated and placed into four lined land treatment units, or landfarms. The landfarms, numbered 1, 4, 5 and 7, covered approximately 11 acres total. International Paper was subject to the permitting requirements of the Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Law and federal Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments for post-closure care because hazardous waste remained in place after closure.
In 2001, the entire contents of Landfarms 1 and 4 were relocated into Landfarms 5 and 7, which became a corrective action management unit. Landfarms 1 and 4 were certified closed with no post-closure care required. Landfarms 5 and 7 were covered with concrete caps and certified closed; however, Landfarms 5 and 7 are still required to go through a period of post-closure care. A Deed Notice, signed by the Newton County Recorder of Deeds in 2001, was placed on the property in order to inform potential future buyers of the property that contaminated soil remains in the landfarms.
International Paper is currently conducting post-closure and corrective action activities under two hazardous waste permits, one issued by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and one issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), both effective Aug. 22, 1994. The department issued the Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Facility Part I Permit. EPA issued the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments Part II Permit. As part of the post-closure care, International Paper is required to operate a groundwater remediation system until August 2045, or until they can show that the contaminant levels have been below the maximum concentration limits specified in their hazardous waste permit for three consecutive years. The system has been in operation since 1993. Potential off-site surface water and groundwater contamination is a concern. International Paper is conducting a RCRA Facility Investigation to define the horizontal and vertical extent of any contamination. If any corrective action activities are necessary, they will be based on the investigation results.
