The Environmental Protection Agency has begun the final cleanup phase at the Redwing Carriers Superfund site in the City of Saraland, Ala. The cleanup began this week and is expected to be completed by April 2008, EPA announced Thursday, Dec. 20.
The final cleanup will consist of excavating and transporting contaminated soils to an off-site approved landfill, and backfilling all excavated areas with clean soil. Water will be used to minimize dust emissions during the soil excavation, transport and hauling, and air monitoring will be conducted during all excavations. Once the cleanup is complete, the site will be revegetated.
From 1961 to 1971, Redwing Carriers owned and operated the site as a terminal for cleaning, repairing and parking its fleet of trucks. The firm transported a variety of substances, including asphalt, diesel fuel, chemicals and pesticides from local plants. During cleaning, untreated hazardous substances were released to the ground, creating a tar-like sludge and contaminating site soils, EPA says. The tar-like sludge is composed predominately of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds together with lesser amounts of pesticides, herbicides and volatile organic compounds.
The 5.1-acre site was placed on the Superfund National Priorities List in 1990. In 1996-1997, a Removal Action and relocation of the former Saraland Apartment residents was implemented and completed. In 2004, the apartment buildings were demolished and the debris shipped off-site for disposal.
