Helena Chemical Co. (Tampa Plant)

Overview

The Helena Chemical Company Tampa Plant sits on 8 acres in Tampa's Orient Park neighborhood. It operated as a pesticide manufacturing facility from 1929 to 1981 and still runs as a pesticide distribution and retail center today. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in October 1992 because of contaminated soil and groundwater. The site remains on the NPL, and construction cleanup is not yet complete.

More than 150 chemical substances have been identified as contaminants of concern. These include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, trichloroethene, and tetrachloroethene, metals such as arsenic, lead, cadmium, and chromium, pesticides and breakdown products including DDT, dieldrin, heptachlor, and lindane, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil and sediment. Groundwater also contains hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and xylene. Contamination is present in soil, groundwater, and sediment across the site.

The potentially responsible party carried out cleanup under EPA and Florida Department of Environmental Protection oversight. Work included demolishing tank storage areas, excavating soil from retention ponds and sulfur pits, treating soils in place, and running pump-and-treat operations that discharge to the Tampa Bypass Canal. A pilot-scale biological degradation study from 2009 to 2012 was unsuccessful because ongoing sulfuric acid generation from a former sulfur pit made it impossible. In 2015, high concentrations of pesticides including DDT, aldrin, and toxaphene were discovered unexpectedly during a neutralization study. That contamination was removed in 2017. Institutional controls, including fencing, deed restrictions, and zoning limits that block residential use, are in place. EPA and the Southwest Florida Water Management District have an agreement regulating water well permitting in the affected groundwater area.

A Five-Year Review completed in March 2021 found that the remedy is expected to protect human health and the environment once cleanup is complete, and that exposure pathways are currently controlled. Human exposure is under control, and groundwater migration is stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. A second remedial investigation and feasibility study for soils and groundwater began in April 2021 and is ongoing. Ground water monitoring and sediment sampling continue. Area businesses and a residence north of the site use the public water system for drinking water, not groundwater. The site's one on-site business employs 18 people and generates about 32 million dollars in annual sales.

Community members can stay informed through EPA public notices, public meetings, and interviews about site activities. A Five-Year Review is currently underway, and the final report will be made public once completed. Questions about the site can be directed to EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or the Remedial Project Manager.