Stage of Clean-up: Study Underway

Conditions at Proposal (April 23, 1999): The Vega Baja Soli d Waste Disposal (VBSWD) site is located in the Rio Abajo Ward, V ega Baja, Puerto Rico. The site is an inactive dump located on a pproximately 15 acres of land. The Vega Baja Municipality borrow ed the land from the Puerto Rico Land Authority in 1948 and utili zed the property and an unlined, open burning dump for institutio nal, commercial, and industrial wastes until 1978. There are cur rently more than 206 residential dwellings constructed on an 11-a cre portion of the site. In May 1994, the Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board (PR EQB) collected surface soil samples near several of the residenti al dwellings as part of a Site Inspection. LEAD and COPPER were detected in the samples at elevated concentrations. In June of 1 996, an Expanded Site Inspection (ESI) of the VBSWD site was cond ucted by the PREQB and EPA's Superfund Technical Assessment and R esponse Team (START), which included the collection of surface and subsurface soil samples as well as sampling of ground water fro m public and private water supplies. The results of the ESI docu mented the presence of contaminated soil across the surface of the site and within 200 feet of three residential homes. The soil is contaminated with inorganic hazardous substances.  More...

Contaminants Detected
	Ground Water	Surface Water	Air	Soil	Other
ANTIMONY	X			X
ANTIMONY COMPOUNDS	X			X
CADMIUM				X
COPPER				X
COPPER COMPOUNDS				X
LEAD				X
ZINC				X
ZINC COMPOUNDS				X

Groundwater and Drinking Water
Were drinking water wells shut down due to contamination?	No data
Are drinking water wells potentially threatened?	No data

EPA Hazard Ranking System scores for VEGA BAJA SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL:

Less Hazard

National Average

More Hazard

0%					50%					100%

Overall site:

Ground water migration:

Soil exposure:

Rank Superfund sites in the U.S., PUERTO RICO, or in VEGA BAJA County by EPA Hazard Ranking Scores.

*Note: EPA's Hazard Ranking System is designed to screen and prioritize sites for the Superfund program, based on limited data available at time of listing. These scores are not based on a comprehensive risk assessment of the site and do not reflect conditions after initiation of cleanup work.

Number of PRPs currently associated with this site:

0

EPA Site Information

• NPL Fact Sheet
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Public Health Assessment
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Public Health Assessment
• NPL Site 5 Year Reviews
• Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System (CERCLIS) Hazardous Waste Site Information
• Superfund Hazardous Waste Site Advanced Query Form

Scorecard reports for VEGA BAJA County on:

• Potential Sources of Land Contamination