Southern Avenue Industrial Area

Overview

The Southern Avenue Industrial Area sits on a vacant property in South Gate, California. It housed industrial operations from at least 1972 through 2012, including a hot-melt adhesive tape manufacturer and, before that, Pacific Screw Products Corporation. EPA added the site to the Superfund National Priorities List in May 2012. The site is organized as a single operable unit covering the overall property.

EPA identified 15 contaminants of concern. Groundwater contains volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, benzene, vinyl chloride, 1,4-dioxane, 1,2,3-trichloropropane, and several other chlorinated compounds. Soil contains lead, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), tetrachloroethene, and trichloroethene. Soil gas contamination reaches at least 35 feet deep, and a VOC groundwater plume extends south of the property. Indoor air testing at eight nearby residences did not show significant vapor intrusion. The local aquifer is not currently used for drinking water, and all water supplied to South Gate residents meets state and federal standards. California has designated the aquifer as having beneficial uses, so EPA will clean it up to maximum contaminant levels.

EPA completed environmental sampling between 2012 and 2017, then finished a combined remedial investigation and feasibility study. A Record of Decision was issued on September 30, 2023, selecting the cleanup remedy. That remedy includes multi-phase extraction, thermal treatment applied in place, soil excavation, soil cover placement, offsite disposal of contaminated material, groundwater and soil gas monitoring, institutional controls, and onsite treatment and disposal of cleanup residuals. Final remedial action began in September 2024 and is estimated to finish between September and November 2028. Construction completion, deletion from the National Priorities List, and the required five-year review have not yet been achieved. EPA performance measures currently show insufficient data to confirm whether human exposure is under control or whether groundwater migration is stabilized.

The original buildings on the site have been demolished. The property is occasionally used for truck parking. EPA's Superfund Redevelopment Program is available to work with the community on future reuse options.

Community members can contact the site's Remedial Project Manager or the Community Involvement Coordinator. Site documents are available through EPA's Regional Records Center in San Francisco and at the Leland R. Weaver Library in South Gate.