Comparables:
Sitios Superfund

SUMMARY

This packet combines two things: a geophysical survey report by TPI Environmental and test pit logs by Langan. Both cover the Logan Triangle / "Logan Pointe" site at N. 9th St. and W. Wyoming Ave. in North Philadelphia, a vacant area of demolished homes and businesses. The fieldwork took place from March 31 to April 2, 2015.

Geophysical survey (TPI Environmental, report dated April 17, 2015)

Langan hired TPI to confirm or rule out underground storage tanks (USTs) at three areas the client picked out. Possible fill ports were seen at all three. TPI swept the areas with an EM metal detector (TW6), a radio-frequency line locator, and ground-penetrating radar (GPR), then marked what it found on the ground with paint.

What they found:

• A1 (Scan Area 1, near N. 11th St.): one UST-style anomaly about 6'×10', under a reinforced concrete pad next to a possible fill port.

• A2 (Scan Area 2, near N. 8th St.): a 17'×23' zone holding two UST-style anomalies, about 8'×13' and 9'×16'. It sits beside a possible fill port, with linear anomalies (likely pipes or utilities) on either side. On the GPR images the tank tops are about 3–4 ft down.

• A3: a small 4'×4' plate-style anomaly, probably not a tank.

• Scan Area 3 (Cortland Ave.): no UST-style anomalies were found, but the area is mostly reinforced concrete. Rebar blocks the EM tools and limits GPR, so TPI says it can't rule out a tank under any reinforced slab.

 

The report closes with standard disclaimers: the survey reduces risk but is not a guarantee. The appendix explains the equipment and methods.

One inconsistency to flag: the letter puts A3 in Scan Area 3. However, the GPR image (Transect 216) and the field sketch both place A3 in Scan Area 2, next to the A2 tanks.

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Test pits (Langan, April 1–2, 2015)

Langan dug nine test pits (L-TP-1 to L-TP-9) with an excavator, each 9–12 ft deep. Groundwater was not reached in any of them.

• Fill across the site: most pits hit 3–8 ft of building debris (brick, wood, concrete, scrap metal, boulders) over gray ash/cinder fill. L-TP-2, 8, and 9 had no ash or cinders. Buried concrete slabs turned up in L-TP-1 (about 6 ft down) and L-TP-6 (about 2 ft down), and layers of charred wood appeared in L-TP-4 and L-TP-8.

• Key finding, L-TP-8 (dug to check for an onsite UST):

  • At 1.5 ft, the crew found a cut-off UST fill or vent pipe; the air inside it read 0.5 ppm on the PID (a vapor meter).

  • Below that, from about 2.5 to 9 ft, the soil was greenish-gray stained clay with a petroleum odor. PID readings peaked at 36 ppm at about 4 ft.

  • Staining and odor dropped off in the clay below 9 ft. The western part of the pit looked clean.

  • Samples were taken for PADEP fuel oil No. 2 parameters.

• All other pits: PID readings were 0.0, with no odors or staining.

• Samples were collected for:

  • lead and arsenic in the EPA-remediated areas (L-TP-1, 6, 7)

  • full TCL/TAL analysis for fill characterization (L-TP-3)

  • PADEP leaded-gasoline parameters at the suspected onsite and offsite tank locations (L-TP-2, 4, 5, 9)

 

Bottom line: the geophysics suggests likely USTs at A1 and A2, and a tank can't be excluded under the reinforced concrete. L-TP-8 is the only pit with confirmed petroleum impacts, tied to an abandoned UST pipe. The lab results are not included in this packet