PAB Oil & Chemical Service, Inc. is a 16.7-acre former disposal facility located about three miles north of Abbeville in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana. It operated from 1978 to 1983, accepting drilling mud, drilling fluids, produced water, work-over fluids, and tank bottoms from oil and gas operations. The site was added to the EPA's National Priorities List (NPL) in 1989 and later deleted from it in 2000 after cleanup was completed.
Thirteen contaminants of concern were identified at the site. Arsenic appears in sediment, soil, and sludge. Barium is found in surface water, soil, sludge, and sediment. Benzene and toluene contaminate surface water. Beryllium and iron are present in surface water. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contaminate sediment, soil, and sludge. All contamination falls within one operable unit covering the entire site.
Cleanup involved removing about 20,000 cubic yards of waste and treating 10 million gallons of surface water. A 1991 emergency response removed ignitable waste from a damaged storage tank and moved materials from four on-site tanks for off-site treatment. The long-term remedy, chosen in 1993 and updated in 1997, included surface water treatment, excavation, solidification and stabilization of residuals, on-site disposal, a clay cover, and groundwater monitoring. Construction finished in August 1998. In September 2024, an Explanation of Significant Differences added institutional controls, which are legal tools that restrict activities in contaminated areas, to the cleanup approach.
Human exposure is currently under control across the entire site, with no unacceptable exposure pathways identified. Contaminated groundwater is stabilized in its original area and is not discharging to surface water at unacceptable levels. All cleanup goals for current and anticipated future land uses have been met, and required land-use restrictions are in place. Operation and maintenance activities continue, and EPA's Fifth Five Year Review, completed in April 2022, confirmed the remedy still protects human health and the environment. The next five-year review is estimated for April through June 2027. The cleanup benefited more than 15,000 people living within four miles of the site.
Community members with questions can reach the EPA Community Involvement Coordinator or the Remedial Project Manager. For state-related questions, contact the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.
