Cedar Chemical Corporation is a 48-acre former chemical manufacturing facility in West Helena, Arkansas. It operated from 1970 to 2002, producing dinoseb and other agricultural and organic chemicals. The site was added to the National Priorities List (NPL) on September 18, 2012. An NPL listing means the EPA has identified the site as a priority for investigation and cleanup under the federal Superfund program.
Contamination affects multiple environmental media at the site. Surface and subsurface soils contain pesticides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and heavy metals. Onsite surface water and groundwater are contaminated with VOCs and heavy metals. Sediments contain pesticides and heavy metals. Eighty solid waste management units have been identified, including about 30 sumps and 10 drum storage or drum crushing areas. The primary off-site contaminant is 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCA), a chemical created during manufacturing that has migrated into groundwater beneath nearby agricultural property.
The EPA performed a removal action from July to October 2003 to address immediate concerns across the site. In March 2016, EPA entered into an Administrative Order of Consent with potentially responsible parties, and a combined Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) began under EPA oversight. The RI/FS is still underway. New groundwater monitoring wells were planned for installation in spring or summer of 2020 to better track how the contamination plume has moved and at what concentrations. EPA and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) are working together to map that plume. No cleanup remedy has been selected yet, and EPA will issue a Record of Decision in the future to document the chosen cleanup strategy.
The greatest health risk at the site is drinking contaminated groundwater. EPA assessments currently indicate that human exposure is under control and that no unacceptable human exposure pathways exist. Groundwater migration is also considered under control, with contaminated groundwater stabilized and no unacceptable discharge to surface water. Even so, physical construction of the cleanup is not yet complete, cleanup goals have not been fully achieved across the entire site, and additional remediation work is needed.
Community members with questions can reach the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or the Remedial Project Manager. For state-level questions, contact the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.
