The South 8th Street Landfill covers 16.3 acres in West Memphis, Arkansas. It operated as an unpermitted dump for municipal and industrial waste starting around 1957. One section held a large oily sludge pit from a re-refining operation that ran from 1960 to 1970. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in October 1992, which is the federal list of the country's most contaminated sites requiring cleanup.
Contaminants are spread across soil, sludge, and groundwater. Soil and sludge contain heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury, along with organic compounds including benzene, toluene, xylene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Pesticides and phthalates are also present in the sludge. Groundwater holds a range of metals including aluminum, arsenic, barium, iron, lead, and manganese, plus cyanide. EPA identified more than 90 chemicals of concern at the site in total.
Cleanup was organized into three operable units covering source control, groundwater, and sitewide issues. For source control, workers stabilized and solidified nearly 20,000 cubic yards of oily sludge and about 20,000 cubic yards of surrounding soil in place, then laid a soil cover and a geocomposite liner over the treated areas to limit water from seeping in. Construction finished in August 2000. For groundwater, EPA selected monitored natural attenuation, meaning contaminants were allowed to break down naturally while nine monitoring wells tracked progress. Metal levels dropped below cleanup goals by 2002, and the wells were plugged and abandoned in June 2003. EPA deleted the site from the NPL in September 2004.
The site is protected today by institutional controls. A property easement from March 2001 bars anyone from drilling water wells into the local aquifer, removing vegetation from the soil cover, or digging into treated material. Fencing and vehicle gates limit access. The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment inspects the site annually. The most recent Five-Year Review, completed in 2024, found that the cleanup continues to protect human health and the environment. No exposure pathways to contaminants currently exist. The next Five-Year Review is scheduled for 2029.
Community members who want to learn more can visit the West Memphis Public Library at (870) 732-7590 or contact the Arkansas Department of Energy and the Environment at (501) 682-0744. The 2024 Five-Year Review Report is available online and at both local repositories. When the 2029 review process begins, a public notice will appear in the local newspaper and residents will have a chance to participate.
