![[logo] US EPA](http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
| Sonford Products | Flowood, Mississippi | |
| Rankin County |
Site Location:
The Sonford property is a 6-acre active property located at 3506 Payne Drive, Flowood, Rankin County, Mississippi. From 1972 to 1985, two separate chemical processing plants operated at the property: Sonford International and Sonford Products. The operations of both businesses involved turning solid pentachlorophenol (PCP) into liquid formations.
Site History:
Sonford International operated from 1972 to 1980. Sonford International produced sodium pentachlorophenate, a water-soluble product used for short-term mildew protection of wood products. The production of the pentachlorophenate occurred on a concrete pad, while 2,000-pound PCP blocks were placed in an open pan, broken by a hammer, and then ground up in a crusher. The ground PCP was mixed with caustic soda water and then fed into a gas-fired dryer for use as a wood treatment. In April 1980, the Sonford International plant was closed due to allegations that an employee died from poisoning due to exposure to high levels of PCP. Sonford Products operated from 1972 until March 1985 producing an oil-soluble PCP product used for long-term protection of wood. Two-thousand-pound PCP blocks were mixed with heated solvents, including napthalene, alcohol bottoms, and hexalene glycol in a blending tank. Sonford Products also produced products that would control pests such as beetles and various wood borers as well as products that control the growth of mold and sap stains in freshly cut lumber.
Site Contamination/Contaminants:
The sources of site contamination include soil contamination. Contaminants of concern associated with activities at the Sonford facility include PCP, lindane, dioxin, and dibenzofuran compounds.
Potential Impacts on Surrounding Community/Environment:
Sonford was evaluated based on the ground water migration, surface water migration, and soil exposure pathways. There is contaminated surface soil, subsurface soil, and three piles located on the property and within 200 feet of the residences that contain elevated concentrations of several inorganic, volatile organic and extractable organic, pesticide, dioxin, and dibenzofuran compounds.The wetlands directly south of the Sonford Products property are contaminated with elevated concentrations of lindane and lead in surface water and arsenic, lead, PCP, lindane, toxaphene, dioxin, and dibenzofurans in sediments.
Response Activities (to date):
On June 14, 1983, a reactor containing glycol ether, sodium hydroxide, and tetrachlorophenol caught fire, and a vapor cloud generated by the burning chemicals drifted over the adjacent residential area. Local fire departments and a representative from the Mississippi Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) Bureau of Pollution Control responded to the fire. The MDNR issued Orders to Sonford in July 1983, March 1985 and July 1985 addressing air and wastewater violations.In April 1985, MDNR responded to a 2,000-gallon spill of PCP at the Sonford property. After a few days, EPA assumed the cleanup from MDNR at the Sonford property. On April 26, 1985, EPA issued a Unilateral Administrative Order to Sonford Products to address the release. Cleanup efforts included the removal of approximately 2,500 cubic-yards of contaminated soils; the disposal of more than 10,000 gallons of oil and treating solution; and the treatment and disposal of existing wastewater (approximately 100,000 gallons).
[The description of the site (release) is based on information available at the time the site was evaluated with the HRS. The description may change as additional information is gathered on the sources and extent of contamination. See 56 FR 5600, February 11, 1991, or subsequent FR notices.]
For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on the Internet at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaq.html or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.