Agrico Chemical Company

• Site Profile
• Administrative Record Index (PDF): OU1 (11 pp., 488K), OU1-ESD (1 pp., 33K),
  OU2 (14 pp., 599K)
• Ready for Reuse Fact Sheet (PDF, 1 pp., 129K)
• Additional Site Documents including Five Year Reviews, Records of Decisions (ROD) and Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD).
• For documents not available on the website, please contact the Region 4 Freedom of Information Office (http://www.epa.gov/region4/foiapgs/submit.htm).

Site Background:
The Agrico Chemical Site includes about 35 acres of property in the City of Pensacola, Florida. A company that produced sulfuric acid from pyrite (iron sulfide) began operating at the Site in 1889. Fertilizer was produced at the site beginning in 1920 by several different companies, including the Agrico Chemical Company which purchased the facility in 1972 and continued operations until 1975. During operations, industrial wastewater was discharged to low-lying areas on the property. Aerial photographs from 1940 through 1990 indicate that wastewater ponded in four general areas. Process water for plant operations was supplied by at least two on-site wells.

In 1989, EPA listed the Site on the National Priorities List (NPL). Conoco Inc. and Freeport McMoRan, Inc. entered into an Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) in 1989 to perform a Remedial Investigation/ Feasibility Study (RI/FS) under EPA's oversight to determine the nature and extent of site contamination and to evaluate possible cleanup alternatives to address any contamination found. The RI/FS study for the source of contamination (soils) was completed in February 1992. EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) in September 1992. The purpose of the response was to prevent current or future exposure to the contaminated soils and sludges on the site. In addition, this response was intended to mitigate or eliminate any further impacts to the groundwater. The ROD for operable unit one identified EPA's selected alternative as the excavation and consolidation/stabilization of impacted soils and sludge with concentrations of fluoride, lead, and arsenic above 1,463 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg, and 16 mg/kg, respectively, from three areas of the site into a single area.  A slurry wall and a multimedia cover system (cap) were to be constructed surrounding the consolidation area. Groundwater quality monitoring, access, and deed restrictions were included as part of the remedy.

The remedial action for operable unit two, which addressed the contaminated groundwater and surface water, was selected in a subsequent ROD in August 1994.  The selected remedy was monitored natural attenuation of fluoride, arsenic, chloride, sulfate, nitrate/nitrite, and radium 226/228 present above selected state and federal standards for drinking water.

Cleanup Progress: Construction Complete

In 1993, EPA reached agreement with the potentially responsible parties to design and construct the remedy for operable unit one under EPA oversight. The cleanup was started in March 1995 and was completed in the fall of 1997. Construction was completed for the remedy for operable unit two in the fall of 1999.  Operation and maintenance activities consisting of routine inspection, general maintenance, closure cover maintenance, stormwater management, groundwater monitoring, well maintenance, irrigation well abandonment program, and institutional control coordination has been ongoing for the site since 1999. The first Five-Year Review of the remedy was performed in February 2000, and the second Five-Year Review including both operable units was completed in July 2005.

The second Five-Year Review determined that the remedy at the Agrico Chemical Company Superfund site remains protective of human health and the environment. Monitoring data indicate that the remedy is functioning as required. The operable unit two remedy is expected to attain cleanup goals over the estimated seventy-year timeframe for restoration of these resources. EPA identified a number of recommendations and follow-up actions for the site that currently are being completed by the potentially responsible parties.