Fairfax St. Wood Treaters

Overview

The Fairfax Street Wood Treaters site is a 12-acre former wood-treating facility in a residential neighborhood in Jacksonville, Florida. The company operated from 1980 to 2010, treating utility poles and lumber with chromated copper arsenate (CCA), a preservative containing arsenic, chromium, and copper. When the company abandoned the facility in 2010, contaminated storm water had spread off site onto neighboring properties and into Moncrief Creek. Two elementary schools, a day care center, and several homes sit near the property.

EPA identified six contaminants of concern at the site. Arsenic, chromium, and copper were found in soil, sludge, sediment, and debris. Carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (cPAH) and benzo[a]pyrene equivalents (BaPEq) were also found in soil, sludge, and debris. These substances posed unacceptable risks to human health and the environment.

EPA and Florida state agencies began removal actions in 2010. Workers removed contaminated soil from school playgrounds and residential properties, treated and disposed of over 150,000 gallons of contaminated water, and removed storage tanks and piping. The site was added to the National Priorities List (NPL) in September 2012. EPA completed a remedial investigation and risk assessment by 2013, and issued a final cleanup remedy in August 2017. That remedy called for excavation and offsite disposal of contaminated material. From March through October 2019, workers removed 60,000 tons of contaminated soil and sediment from the wood-treating property and 51 residential properties, replacing it with clean fill. Construction was completed on April 1, 2020.

Human exposure to contaminants is currently under control, and groundwater contamination is stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. The site has been remediated to residential cleanup levels, meaning there are no restrictions on future use. EPA and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection deleted the site from the NPL on August 18, 2020, confirming that all cleanup goals had been met.

Community members played an active role throughout the process. EPA held monthly public availability sessions from December 2018 through November 2019, giving residents a chance to ask questions and report concerns. EPA also offered job training through the Superfund Job Training Initiative, and 13 community members completed a three-week environmental remediation program in March 2019, earning certifications in hazardous waste response, CPR, first aid, and construction safety. Site records are available to the public at the Dallas Graham Branch Library at 2304 North Myrtle Avenue in Jacksonville. For health-related questions, the Florida Department of Health can be reached at (877) 798-2772 or phtoxicologv@flhealth.gov.