The Waste Disposal, Inc. site covers 38 acres across 22 parcels in Santa Fe Springs, California. It includes a 42-million-gallon concrete-lined reservoir originally built for crude petroleum storage. Waste disposal activities conducted from the early 1940s through the mid-1960s left behind petroleum-related chemicals, solvents, sludges, pesticides, and construction debris. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in July 1987. The NPL is the federal list of the most serious hazardous waste sites in the country.
More than 80 chemical contaminants have been identified in soil, soil gas, and groundwater at the site. Heavy metals include arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, and zinc. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) include trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, benzene, and vinyl chloride. Pesticides such as DDT compounds, chlordane, and dieldrin are present in soil, along with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
EPA selected a cleanup remedy in December 1993 and issued an amendment in June 2002 to address vapor intrusion, which occurs when soil vapors seep into buildings. The amended cleanup added soil vapor extraction, active gas venting, building pressurization, and groundwater monitoring alongside the original engineered cap and institutional controls. Remedial construction started in September 2002 and finished in August 2005. Operation and maintenance have been ongoing since September 2006. Human exposure is under control, and all cleanup goals for current and anticipated future land uses have been met. Over 40 businesses now operate on the site, and the Waste Disposal Inc. Group, a steering committee of responsible companies, monitors the institutional controls and maintains the site under EPA oversight.
EPA completed its most recent Five-Year Review in September 2024. That review confirmed the remedy continues to protect human health and the environment. Institutional controls recorded with the county restrict activities that could damage caps, treatment systems, or monitoring wells, and they prohibit residential uses. EPA is also working with multiple parties on beneficial reuse activities at the site.
Community members can review site documents at the Santa Fe Springs City Library at 11700 Telegraph Road, Santa Fe Springs, California, or at the EPA Superfund Records Center at 75 Hawthorne Street, Room 3010, San Francisco, California. For questions, the public can contact EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator David Yogi or Remedial Project Manager Russell Mechem directly.
