Solomon's Mines/Diversified Insulation/W.R. Grace, 4220 W. Glenrosa & W. Bell Road, Phoenix, Arizona
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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
9 4220 W. Glenrosa & W. Bell Road, Phoenix, Arizona Active exfoliation facility 254,885 Yes-May 9, 2000 Yes According to an EPA database compiled from W.R. Grace shipping invoices, 254,885 tons of vermiculite ore from the Libby mine were shipped to this site between May 1969 and October 1992. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's (ATSDR) health consultation report for this site, in 1964, W.R. Grace purchased the company that had previously occupied this site and, following the relocation of its vermiculite exfoliation furnace from 6960 N 52nd Street, Glendale, Arizona, began processing vermiculite concentrate and marketing it under the name Zonolite. (The Glendale site is listed separately in this database.) This facility was located within an industrial area that was approximately 1/2-square mile and the industrial area was surrounded by a larger mixed-use area consisting of commercial and residential districts. The nearest residential areas were approximately 1/2-mile northeast and southwest of this site. This facility received Libby ore by rail from 1964 to 1992 and stopped processing vermiculite from the Libby mine in 1992. At the time of EPA's investigation, the facility received vermiculite from a W.R. Grace facility located in Enoree, South Carolina. (The Enoree facility is listed separately in this database). In February 2001, EPA collected 4 air samples, 13 soil samples, and 6 dust samples at the site. Three of the 4 air samples contained no detectable levels of asbestos while 1 sample collected between the exfoliation ovens contained asbestos structures. The air samples were analyzed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Of the 14 soil samples collected, 13 contained trace amounts or less than 1-percent asbestos (one of these 13 samples also contained 1-percent chrysotile asbestos, a type of asbestos not found in Libby ore). The remaining sample collected near the railroad tracks along the western perimeter of the site contained 2-percent asbestos. The soil samples were analyzed using polarized light microscopy (PLM). Two of the dust samples were damaged and three of the remaining four samples contained asbestos structures (one of these three samples contained only chrysotile asbestos structures). The dust samples were analyzed using TEM. Based on the sampling results, EPA determined the site needed to be cleaned up. W.R. Grace, as the site owner and operator, performed all the removal work with EPA oversight. In the railroad loading area, soil containing asbestos concentrations greater than 1-percent was removed to a depth of 1 foot below the surface, the excavated area was backfilled with clean soil, and capped with concrete or asphalt. Surfaces where dust samples contained asbestos in amounts that exceeded action levels (greater than 10,000 asbestos structures per square centimeter) were micro vacuumed and wet wiped to remove any asbestos-containing dust. The cleanup work was completed in December 2001. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s (ATSDR) health consultation report for this site can be found at ATSDR.

GAO-09-6R