There is a lot of interesting history to this.

In the November 1994 Record of Decision indicates that from approximately 1947 to 1966, several companies, collectively referred to as “United Heckathorn” used the site to package pesticides, predominantly DDT. United Heckathorn employees routinely washed out equipment containing pesticide residue, and the wash water entered the channel or seeped into the ground. There were also accidental spills and leaks.

In 1960, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board cited United Heckathorn for the release of DDT-laden wastewater into the Bay. In 1965, the California Department of Fish and Game identified a discharge of wastewater into the bay and leakage from settling tanks.

Pesticide processing ended in 1966, and the United Heckthorn buildings were demolished and cleared from the site. In 1981, the Levin Metals Corporation purchased the property from the Parr-Richmond Terminal Company.

EPA listed the site on the CERCLA National priorities List in March 1990 and took over as lead agency.

After extensive study, EPA reviewed four remediation alternatives, ranging from no action to offsite disposal of marine sediment and capping of upland areas.

The most comprehensive alternative, offsite disposal of marine sediment and capping of upland areas, was supported by BCDC, Save San Francisco Bay Association and local citizens. It was chosen by the EPA. The Port of Richmond supported the most comprehensive alternative  but was “…concerned that lower level of contamination elsewhere in the harbor may impact disposal options for material dredged for navigation purposes. The Port stated that it would hold EPA responsible for the cost of disposal of any sediments not addressed by the remedy.”

The Montrose Chemical Corporation of California, a DDT manufacturer and Potentially Responsible Party submitted extensive comments arguing that the proper remedy for the site was no action.

The first 5-year review in 2002 concluded that the capped upland area was functioning properly but the channel was contaminated with unacceptable levels of pesticides.

The second 5-year review in 2006 also concluded that the site had not met cleanup goals.

The third 5-year review in 2011 also concluded that “the remediation goals for DDT and dieldrin in the water and in the sediments…have not been maintained.”

EPA proposes to continue to study the situation and to update fish advisory warning signs.

What is of concern is that since taking over responsiEPA has known the 1990s remediation to have been unsuccessful since at least 2002, but 10 years later, nothing tangible has been done about it.

At least it is on their to-do list.

If the Republicans have their way, the EPA would be abolished. Also, in in 2011, the GOP controlled House of Representatives voted to eliminate EPA oversight of the Clean water Act.

Scary.

Toxic pollution levels at Richmond Superfund site rise

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Wednesday, January 04, 2012
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Laura Anthony
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RICHMOND, Calif. (KGO) -- Nearly 20 years and millions of dollars later, a Richmond Superfund cleanup site isn't cleaned up at all. Decades ago, a chemical plant operated in the Lauritzen Channel in Richmond's inner harbor. The residual consequences of that are still a problem.
In this case, immediately after the cleanup in the mid-90s, the toxic levels did drop in the affected area, but in the past decade those toxic levels are back up at an alarming rate.
Eighteen years after it was first named a Superfund cleanup site, Richmond's Lauritzen Channel is as toxic as ever.
"Within this narrow channel we're now seeing steady increases in fish tissue in the amount of DDT that we find," Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator Jared Blumenfeld said. "And that's a troubling signal."
The EPA's most recent five-year review shows higher levels of the banned pesticide DDT than before the cleanup began in 1994. The waterway was contaminated by a chemical plant in the 1940s. DDT was banned in 1972 after it was found to kills fish and prevent birds from reproducing. It's also harmful to humans.
The higher levels of DDT come despite years of dredging and the replacement of tons of contaminated soil in the 1990s; a $10 million project.
"We thought we dealt with all of it," Blumenfeld said. "Now what we're seeing is from other sources which we haven't yet been able to identify more DDT is creeping back into that channel."
The 2006 EPA review showed level of DDT rising, but the latest study put those levels 30 times greater in Lauritzen Channel anchovies than in 1994.
"The bottom line is that it needs to be taken care of," Richmond City Councilman Tom Butt said. He worries about the larger implications for his community. "There's a significant population of people in Richmond who fish in the bay, and even fish near this area, and this is a big potential health hazard for them."
Lee Chua often casts his line in Richmond Marina Bay, not far from the Lauritzen Channel. He's not planning to eat what he catches.
"I'd love to fish here and actually keep the fish and eat it and not worry about anything," Chua said.
The EPA has received funding from Congress to do further study and figure out where the DDT is coming from and how to clean it up again. In the meantime they are posting no fishing signs inside Lauritzen Channel. As for concerns about the fish in the greater Bay Area, the EPA says so far their studies indicate there are no higher levels of DDT in the fish in that area.
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