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City Industries, Inc.
National Information
Photos/Multimedia
Entrance to City Industries site.
Additional Resources
- Site Cleanup Terms - can be found in EPA's glossary
- EPA Guides to Cleanup Technologies
- Superfund Community Involvement (PDF) (17 pp, 130K, About PDF)
Site Summary Profile
EPA ID: FLD055945653Location: Winter Park, Orange County, FL
Lat/Long: 28.601380, -081.300000
Congressional District: 08
NPL Status: Proposed: 10/15/84; Final: 10/04/89
Affected Media: Ground water
Cleanup Status: Construction complete: Physical cleanup activities have been completed
Human Exposure Under Control: Yes
Groundwater Migration Under Control: Yes
Sitewide Ready for Anticipated Use: Yes
Site Reuse/Redevelopment: Continued use - commercial
Site Manager: Peter Thorpe (thorpe.peter@epa.gov)
Current Site Status
The City Industries, Inc. site includes the area where City Chemical Company operated a waste management facility from 1971 until 1983. EPA placed the site on the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1989 because of contaminated soil and ground water resulting from facility operations. EPA and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) have investigated site conditions and taken steps to clean up the site in order to protect people and the environment from contamination. Site contamination does not currently threaten people living and working near the site. Both residents and businesses use the public water system for drinking water. By treating ground water and undertaking Five-Year Reviews, EPA, FDEP and the site’s potentially responsible parties (PRPs) continue to protect people and the environment from site contamination.
Site Location and Background
The 1-acre site is located on Forsyth Road in Winter Park, Florida. The site is part of a commercial area in the eastern section of Orange County, approximately two miles northeast of Orlando. Cato Steel borders the site to the north, Costco Wholesale borders the site to the south, Top-Gun Gunite borders the site to the west, and Forsyth Road borders the site to the east. The nearest residences are over a half-mile from the site.
City Chemical Company’s waste storage, disposal and recycling facility received, handled, stored, reclaimed and disposed of various waste chemicals. Wastes handled at the site included chlorinated and non-chlorinated organic solvents, paint and varnish wastes, acid/alkaline plating wastes, and waste ink. Poor waste handling practices and intentional dumping led to the contamination of soil and ground water at the site. In 1983, City Chemical Company abandoned the site, leaving approximately 1,200 barrels of hazardous waste and thousands of gallons of sludges in a number of large holding tanks on site. Since 1983, the facility has been used for other small commercial and retail business operations.
In 1989, EPA listed the site on the NPL.
Threats and Contaminants
Site investigations identified contamination in soil and ground water that could potentially harm people in the area. Soil and ground water contamination resulted from waste handling practices at the site. Contaminants of concern identified include chemical solvents –substances used to dissolve other substances – including tetrachloroethylene (also known as PCE or PERC) and trichloroethylene.
EPA dug up contaminated soils causing ground water contamination. EPA sent some of these soils to an off-site landfill and placed remaining soils back on site after cleanup. The site’s cleanup is compatible with commercial and industrial activities. The site cannot support residential land uses or school or daycare facilities.
Contaminated ground water is located beneath the former facility and nearby commercial and manufacturing businesses east of the site. Ground water treatment is ongoing. Site PRPs monitor wells periodically to make sure contaminated ground water is not spreading. After treatment, ground water discharges into a local drainage ditch. A cleanup contractor overseeing the treatment system samples the discharged water on a weekly basis to make sure it is properly treated. Businesses and residents use the public water system for their drinking water and therefore do not come into contact with contaminated ground water. In addition, the South Florida Water Management District listed the site and nearby surrounding area as a ground water delineation area, which means all wells placed in the area require the District’s approval.
During the Five-Year Review conducted in 2009, EPA assessed whether residences or workers might come into contact with harmful vapors entering buildings as a result of contaminated ground water. EPA found that residents and workers were not coming into contact with these vapors. EPA also fenced portions of the site and posted warning signs.
Investigation and Cleanup Responsibility / Oversight
EPA initially led site investigation and cleanup activities in cooperation with FDEP. Site PRPs are currently leading cleanup activities, with oversight provided by EPA and FDEP.
Site Cleanup Plan
In 1990, EPA issued a cleanup plan (a Record of Decision, or ROD) for the site. The plan included the following activities:
- Pumping site ground water.
- Treating site ground water by air stripping, which is the process of forcing air through polluted ground water to remove harmful chemicals.
- Discharging treated ground water to the Iron Bridge Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW), a public wastewater treatment facility.
Because EPA and the POTW were unable to reach an agreement regarding discharge of treated ground water to the POTW, EPA implemented the site’s contingency cleanup approach. In 1994, EPA issued issued an Explanation of Significant Differences to explain why certain ground water treatment technologies had not been used at the site and to set cleanup standards and discharge standards for chemicals not addressed in the ROD.
Cleanup Progress
Parties have taken several cleanup actions at the site. In 1983, FDEP removed drums and sludges. In 1984, EPA removed and heat-treated 1,670 tons of contaminated soil and returned it to the site. Additionally, EPA removed and transported 10 tons of the site’s most highly contaminated soil to a hazardous waste landfill. EPA built the site’s ground water pump and treat system between 1992 and 1994 and began using it to treat ground water in 1994. In 2004, EPA completed major repairs and upgrades to the treatment system. In addition, site PRPs began operating the system with EPA oversight. Ground water treatment is ongoing until contaminant levels meet state and federal cleanup standards. The treatment system keeps contaminated ground water from spreading and continues to steadily decrease ground water contamination levels.
The site’s third Five-Year Review, completed in 2009, found that the ground water treatment system and ground water monitoring are functioning as required for contaminant levels to meet ground water cleanup standards.
Summaries of cleanup activities are also available in Five-Year Reviews online.
Enforcement Activities
EPA negotiated legal agreements with site PRPs to finance cleanup activities at the site as well as reimburse EPA for designing cleanup activities and other past costs. Site PRPs continue to fund site cleanup, monitoring and oversight activities.
The ROD and Five-Year Reviews online provide information on specific legal agreements for the site.
Community Involvement
EPA has worked with the community and its state partner to develop a long-term cleanup plan for the site, reflecting the Agency’s commitment to safe, healthy communities and environmental protection. Community engagement and public outreach are core components of EPA program activities.
EPA has conducted a range of community involvement activities to solicit community input and to make sure the public remains informed about site activities throughout the cleanup process. Outreach efforts have included public notices and information meetings on cleanup progress and activities.
Future Work
The site’s ground water pump-and-treat system will continue to operate until all contaminants of concern meet cleanup standards.
EPA completed the last Five-Year Review in 2009 and plans to complete the next Five-Year Review in 2014.
Additional Information
EPA keeps additional site documents and information in a site information repository at the location below. EPA also posts site documents, when available, on EPA’s CERCLIS Site Profile page. For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office.
Site Repository
Winter Park Public Library
460 E New England Ave.
Winter Park, FL 32789