Former Foreman's Cleaners, Salem, Oregon

State Coalition for Remediation of Drycleaners Site Profiles

Description
Historical activity that resulted in contamination.

The former Foreman's drycleaners is located in a commercial/residential area in southeast Salem, Oregon. The property was a drycleaner from 1936 to 2001. Operations were discontinued in 2001, and the building was subsequently demolished. Stoddard solvent was used in the drycleaning until the mid-1980's, and PCE was used after that. Drycleaning equipment was located near an exterior door adjacent to the parking lot. Stoddard solvent was stored in a UST. Past spills of drycleaner solvent from equipment to the floor may have flowed out the door and into the gravel parking lot. Still bottom wastes were stored outside this door until 1982. A dry well was found during soil excavation activities. Chlorinated solvents were also found in the sanitary sewer lines. Contaminant source areas were the UST area, drywell, and sanitary sewer lines.

Remediation Status: In groundwater monitoring

Contaminants
Contaminants present and the highest amount detected in both soil and groundwater.

Contaminant	Media	Concentration (ppb)
sec-butylbenzene	groundwater	278 ppb
sec-butylbenzene	soil	7,500 ppb
chloroform	groundwater	4.1 ppb
cis-1,2-Dichloroethene	groundwater	70,000 ppb
cis-1,2-Dichloroethene	soil	2,500 ppb
ethylbenzene	groundwater	23.1 ppb
ethylbenzene	soil	740 ppb
n-butylbenzene	groundwater	159 ppb
n-butylbenzene	soil	4,600 ppb
Tetrachloroethene (PCE)	groundwater	136,000 ppb
Tetrachloroethene (PCE)	soil	418,000 ppb
1,2,4-trimethylbenzene	groundwater	1,450 ppb
1,2,4-trimethylbenzene	soil	5,710 ppb
1,3,5-trimethylbenzene	groundwater	430 ppb
1,3,5-trimethylbenzene	soil	1,340 ppb
Trichloroethene (TCE)	groundwater	36,300 ppb
Trichloroethene (TCE)	soil	8,000 ppb
toluene	groundwater	14.1 ppb
toluene	soil	300 ppb
trans-1,2-Dichloroethene	groundwater	720.4 ppb
trans-1,2-Dichloroethene	soil	8,000 ppb

Site Hydrology

Deepest Significant Groundwater Contamination:		25ft bgs
Plume Size:		Plume Length: 180ft Plume Width: 100ft Plume Thickness: 55ft
Average Depth to Groundwater:		11ft

Lithology and Subsurface Geology

		Fill material Depth: 0-2ft bgs 2ft thick Gradient: 0.017ft/ft
		Gravelly silt Depth: 2-4ft bgs 2ft thick
		layers of clay and silty clay Depth: 4-61ft bgs 57ft thick

Pathways and DNAPL Presence

Groundwater

Sediments

Soil

DNAPL Present

Remediation Scenario

Cleanup Goals:

PCE: 14,000 µg/kg

Technologies

Ex Situ Soil Removal

Why the technology was selected:
The building was demolished, making it easy to access the source soils and remove them. HRC introduced to enhance degration of the contaminants in groundwater.

Date implemented:
January 14, 2002

Final remediation design:
A trackhoe was used to excavate approximately 477 tons of contaminated soil (soils exceeding 14,000 µg/kg PCE). The excavated area was backfilled with crushed rock ammended with HRC - 1% by weight.

Results to date:
Subsequent groundwater monitoring has shown a significant decrease in PCE and TCE concentrations of up to two orders of magnitude. There has also been a subsequent increase and then decrease in the concentrations of PCE degradation products.

Next Steps:
Continue groundwater monitoring for MNA. Eventually close the site when plume is within risk based levels and demonstrated to be stable and no longer migrating.

Cost to Design and Implement:
$267,000

Costs

Cost for Assessment:		$150,000
Cost for Operation and Maintenance:		Monitoring only @ $16,000/year
Total Costs for Cleanup:

Lessons Learned

1. Finding the dry well was unexpected and almost doubled the soil excavation and removal costs.

Contacts

Nancy Sawka
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
750 Front St. N.E. Suite 120
Salem, Oregon 97301

Site Specific References

Focussed Site Investigation Report, June 15, 2000

Removal Assessment and Data Summary Report, April 16, 2001

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U.S. EPA Contaminated Site Cleanup Information (CLU-IN)

State Coalition for Remediation of Drycleaners Site Profiles