Alpha Chemical Corp. is a 32-acre former fiberglass and resin manufacturing facility located three miles north of Lakeland, Florida, in the town of Kathleen. The EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1983 after soil and groundwater contamination from manufacturing operations was identified. The site is now deleted from the NPL, meaning all cleanup work required under the federal Superfund law known as CERCLA is complete.
Four contaminants of concern were identified in groundwater at Operable Unit 01 (OU01): benzoic acid, ethylbenzene, styrene, and mixed xylene isomers. These chemicals were found at levels that posed unacceptable risk to human health or the environment and drove the cleanup decisions for the site.
The cleanup involved two main actions. A potentially responsible party removed contaminated soil from one waste pond and replaced it with clean soil. An engineered cap was then constructed over the remaining unlined pond in 1989 to contain soil contamination, and the surface was seeded to prevent erosion. Groundwater and surface water monitoring confirmed that contamination dropped to levels meeting state and federal standards. Soil sampling in 2013 confirmed contaminant concentrations below state cleanup targets. The EPA selected the engineered cap and monitoring as the remedy in a Record of Decision issued in May 1988. Two Explanations of Significant Differences were later issued, in September 2010 and June 2016, to add institutional controls and address related amendments.
Human exposure is under control, and contaminated groundwater migration is stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. The EPA and Florida Department of Environmental Protection discontinued Five-Year Reviews in 2014 because the site met requirements for unlimited use and unrestricted exposure. The site is currently monitored under RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) regulations because it remains an active chemical plant. As of December 2024, one on-site business employed 90 people and generated roughly $67.7 million in annual sales.
Community members with questions about the site can contact the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or Remedial Project Manager. Administrative records for the site are also available at the Lakeland Public Library, 100 Lake Morton Drive, Lakeland, Florida 33801.
