Zonolite Company/W.R. Grace, 4729 River Road, New Orleans, Louisiana
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EPA
Region		 Location of facility Type of facility Amount
of ore
received
(in tons)		 Did
EPA
visit
the
site?		 Were
samples
taken?		 Results of
evaluation
6 4729 River Road, New Orleans, Louisiana Former exfoliation facility 148,295 Yes-February 22, 2000 Yes According to an EPA database compiled from W.R. Grace shipping invoices, 148,295 tons of vermiculite ore from the Libby mine were shipped to this site between June 1966 and December 1988. EPA determined that W.R. Grace had operated a vermiculite exfoliation facility on this site from approximately 1965 to 1990. The site consisted of a 16,000 square foot building situated on approximately 2 acres of land. The site was located in an industrial area and the nearest residence was approximately 200 yards to the east. The site had railroad access, which was likely used to transport vermiculite. The facility had produced attic insulation, masonry insulation, lightweight concrete aggregate, spray-applied fireproofing, and various horticultural soil conditioners. At the time of EPA's visit, this site was operated by a clothing wholesaler who did not know anything about previous businesses that had operated at the site. The wholesale clothing business occupied about 80 percent of the original vermiculite warehouse structure. The remaining space was abandoned and contained large pneumatic equipment and a small hopper bin. EPA observed that the abandoned space was not "clean," but that no vermiculite waste accumulation was visible through the warehouse door. Four silos were located behind the warehouse. EPA found that the silos were empty and did not observe any contamination in or around these structures. EPA observed an overgrown, fenced lot west of the site but did not see any waste material in this area. At the time of its investigation, EPA did not collect samples because it did not see any vermiculite waste piles on the site. EPA had planned to assist the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and the Louisiana Department of Health and Human Services with sampling of this site, but this activity was postponed because of Hurricane Katrina. In November 2008, soil samples were collected at this site. As of January 2009, EPA had not provided information regarding the results of this sampling. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s (ATSDR) health consultation report for this site can be found at ATSDR.

GAO-09-6R