Comparables:
Sitios Superfund

SUMMARY
This is a Response Action Plan (RAP) prepared by Urban Engineers for the City of Philadelphia. It lays out how the City will remove lead-contaminated surface soil from six areas of the Logan neighborhood under an agreement with U.S. EPA Region III. Urban Engineers VP Thomas G. May sent it to Bruce Beitler at the Pennsylvania DEP on November 22, 2000, for information. The cover letter notes that EPA had already approved the plan, subject to minor changes.

INVESTIGATION HISTORY

• 1998–99, Army Corps of Engineers: Deeper borings found nothing classified as hazardous waste. Shallow test pits found elevated lead and mercury.

• March 1999, City sampling: Lead ranged from about 380 to 1,714 ppm. Two samples exceeded Pennsylvania's 500 ppm residential standard.

• May 1999, Urban Engineers testing: Only arsenic (10 lots) and lead (4 lots) exceeded state standards.

• July 1999: A community forum was held.

• August 1999: The Logan/Olney Coalition asked for EPA involvement.

• November 1999, EPA sampling: 230 samples showed lead from 25 to 22,300 ppm. Children were seen playing on the lots.

 

EPA identified six "pockets" to clean up to 730 ppm lead. That goal is less strict than Pennsylvania's 500 ppm Act 2 standard.
Area   Size (sq yd)    Avg. lead (ppm)
1          15,357              1,037
2.              178               5,920
3.           4,115               1,555
4.           1072               2,300
5.          1,925               1,005
6.         4,000                 868

THE CLEANUP PLAN
Main approach: Dig out the top 1 foot of soil, truck it to an approved landfill, then backfill with 1 foot of certified clean fill. The top 3 inches of the backfill will be topsoil so grass can be seeded.