Miami Drum Services

Overview

Between 1966 and 1981, Miami Drum Services cleaned and recycled drums on a 1.2-acre lot in northwest Miami-Dade County, about two miles north of Miami International Airport. The facility closed in 1981 after permit violations. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in September 1983. Today, a Miami Transit Authority light rail maintenance yard occupies the property, which is fenced, secured, and partially paved.

Operations left soil and groundwater contaminated with 30 identified substances. These include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene and vinyl chloride, metals including arsenic, cadmium, and lead, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) like benzo(a)pyrene, and pesticides including DDT. The contaminated groundwater mixed with pollution from two nearby Superfund sites, the Varsol Spill and Northwest 58th Street Landfill, spreading contamination through the Biscayne Aquifer. That aquifer is the only drinking water source for several counties, including Miami-Dade.

Cleanup started with soil removal in 1982. Miami-Dade County disposed of the excavated soil at an off-site hazardous waste facility. Some contaminants remain in soil at levels unsafe for residential use, so EPA is evaluating institutional controls to limit future redevelopment to appropriate uses. For groundwater, the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department has run air strippers and granular activated carbon systems at the Preston and Hialeah water treatment plants since 1992. Those systems treat contaminated groundwater and supply drinking water to nearly one million people in northern Miami-Dade County. Remedial construction was completed in April 1993, and the site reached sitewide ready for anticipated reuse status in July 2019.

EPA completed the most recent Five-Year Review in July 2023. That review found that human exposure is under control, groundwater migration is under control, and the remedy protects human health and the environment. EPA published a Notice of Intent to Delete the site from the NPL on March 4, 2026. The next Five-Year Review is estimated between July and September 2028. EPA and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection continue to oversee the site.

Community members can review site records at the Miami-Dade County Public Library at 101 West Flagler Street in Miami. EPA keeps the public informed through public notices, interviews, and information meetings.