A former Texas City industrial waste storage site that has caused contaminated ground water to migrate into a nearby estuary may be added to the federal Superfund National Priorities List, as proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Malone Service Company site in Texas City, which received wastes from a variety of industries, leaked hazardous substances into an underlying aquifer during and after its operation until 1996. Sampling by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission in 1997 showed that the contaminants, including chlorinated solvents, phenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and metals, migrated to Galveston Bay, a National Estuary and major fishery.
An EPA Superfund NPL Assessment Program narrative cited the Malone site for using a five-acre impoundment for waste storage. The impoundment, now filled with oily solids and contaminated water up to 40 feet deep, is partially unlined and comes into contact with the underground aquifer, which extends to Galveston Bay.
Galveston Bay, the seventh largest estuary in the United States, supports a wide range of commercial and recreational fishing. The 600-square mile estuary is home to more than 70 species of waterfowl and shorebirds and 90 species of amphibians and reptiles.
More information about the Superfund proposal is available at : http://www.epa.gov/superfund/new/newnpl.htm
(Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)