Pesticide Warehouse III is a 2-acre inactive pesticide storage facility in Manati, Puerto Rico. It operated from 1954 until February 2003, storing pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. Part of the facility was also used for pineapple processing. EPA added it to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) in April 2003, and a fire destroyed the facility in June 2003. The site has been divided into two operable units (OUs): one for soil (OU-1) and one for groundwater (OU-2).
EPA identified six contaminants of concern at the site. Four, including aldrin, dieldrin, heptachlor epoxide, and toxaphene, are found in soil. Dieldrin and heptachlor epoxide are also present in groundwater. The site also contains 2,3,7,8-TCDD (tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin) toxicity equivalents in soil. These chemicals can bioaccumulate in living organisms. They move through the environment mainly via contaminated soil carried by surface runoff, overland flow, and windblown dust, though vegetation cover limits dust transport and erosion. Human exposure is currently under control, meaning no unacceptable exposure pathways have been found. However, EPA has insufficient data to confirm whether contaminated groundwater movement has stabilized.
EPA selected a cleanup remedy in a September 2015 Record of Decision. For the soil unit, the plan calls for thermal desorption, soil covers, excavation, offsite disposal, monitoring, and institutional controls to limit site use. For groundwater, a 2019 Record of Decision calls for monitoring and institutional controls, with a third operable unit identified for a final groundwater remedy but not yet decided. Remedial design for soil was completed between 2016 and 2019, and for groundwater between 2021 and 2022. Active remedial work began in September 2023 and is expected to continue through late 2027. Operation and maintenance for the soil unit and long-term response action for the groundwater unit are both planned to begin after construction wraps up. Access controls are currently in place at the site.
Community members can review site documents at several locations, including the EPA Records Center in New York, the EPA office in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rico Department of Environmental and Natural Resources office in Rio Piedras, and the Manati Municipal Library. Past public engagement has included meetings at the municipal library and door-to-door outreach. There is no Community Advisory Group currently established for this site.
