DEFENSE PERSONNEL SUPPORT CENTER

SITE LOCATION

The Center is located on the South side of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, near the Schuylkill Freeway and the Passyunk Homes.

SITE DESCRIPTION (as of dates of TOSC assistance)

Citizens of south Philadelphia requested TOSC assistance concerning a large, free-flowing petroleum plume underlying, and adjacent to, the DPSC facility, a former garment factory. Sun Co. and DPSC entered into a consent agreement with PA-Department of Environmental Protection to investigate and remediate the plume, although the issue of liability has not been agreed upon. The plume is as much as 8-10 feet thick in parts and is the largest known mass of soil and groundwater contamination in Pennsylvania.

DPSC lies in the vicinity of several bulk petroleum refining and storage facilities. In addition, a large bus maintenance operation is adjacent to DPSC. Several neighborhoods border the site, including two Philadelphia Housing Authority developments. The plume extends beneath one of the PHA properties, Passyunk Homes. 97% of the residents of both PHA properties are African American; the other three residential neighborhoods are 81-100% white.

DPSC founded a Restoration Advisory Board in January 1995 to provide input on the environmental work at the facility. The RAB has a broad-based membership, including community residents and leaders, local employers, regulatory agencies, the City of Philadelphia, and DPSC and Sun personnel.

The site investigation work is not complete. To date, it has included:
• monitoring wells and soil borings to determine the source and path of the plume.
• a soil gas survey to determine extent of the plume and possible health risks associated with it.
• sampling for vapors in area sewers.

The boundaries of the plume are not completely known although the bulk of the petroleum appears to be beneath the DPSC facility and the adjacent Passyunk Homes housing project. Both Sun and DPSC are pumping petroleum through recovery wells from beneath their properties.

Efforts to address potential health effects include a proposal to conduct a health risk assessment jointly by Sun and DPSC. A "conceptual work plan" has been written. Because of the lack of staff expertise at PA-DEP, the agency has retained a contract toxicologist.

ORGANIZATION REQUESTING TOSC ASSISTANCE

The Restoration Advisory Board and residents of south Philadelphia.

BEGINNING DATE OF TOSC ASSISTANCE

September 1996

ENDING DATE OF TOSC ASSISTANCE

April 1997

INFORMATION CONTACT

Kirk Riley
TOSC Program Manager
Tel: (517) 355-7493
Fax: (517) 432-1550
E-mail: rileyki@egr.msu.edu

SUMMARY OF TOSC ASSISTANCE

In 1996 and 1997, TOSC met with the DPSC Restoration Advisory Board and, separately, with groups of concerned citizens to assess their needs for TOSC assistance. Agreement was reached on services to be provided. Subsequently, TOSC reviewed RI/Fs documents related to the investigation of the petroleum plume from the DPSC facility (and possibly the nearby Sun refinery). TOSC also reviewed risk assessment documents and conducted workshops on environmental health and risk assessment. The DPSC project was carried out jointly by the Michigan State University and Howard University TOSC offices, with the participation of Dr. Ed Martin, Dr. Bailus Walker and Dr. Jim Johnson, Dean of Engineering and Associate Director of the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic HSRC.