California Zonolite Company/W.R. Grace, 5440 W. San Fernando Road, Glendale, California
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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 5440 W. San Fernando Road, Glendale, California Former exfoliation facility 120,394 Yes-May 10, 2000 Yes According to an EPA database compiled from W.R. Grace shipping invoices, 120,394 tons of vermiculite ore from the Libby mine were shipped to this site between January 1967 and July 1979. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry's (ATSDR) health consultation report for this site, California Zonolite started processing vermiculite ore at this site in 1950. In 1966, W.R. Grace purchased the operation and continued vermiculite exfoliation at the site until 1977, when it shut the facility down. This facility produced expanded vermiculite for use as lightweight aggregate in concrete and plaster, loose fill insulation for attics and masonry walls, and as an ingredient in spray-applied fireproofing for steel building structures. At the time of EPA's visit, two separate businesses—a tool manufacturing company and a chemical company—operated at the site. Some of the buildings these companies occupied had been used for vermiculite processing and handling by California Zonolite/W.R. Grace. Land use around this site was a mixture of commercial, industrial, and residential. There was a railroad spur adjacent to the site. In 2001, EPA collected 15 soil, 4 dust, and 5 air samples at this site. Soil sample results contained up to 7-percent asbestos and dust sample results contained up to 3,471,238 asbestos structures per square centimeter of wiped surface (10,000 structures per square centimeter is the level at which a cleanup action may be needed). Asbestos structures were detected in one of the air samples. The soil samples were analyzed using polarized light microscopy (PLM) and the air and dust samples were analyzed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). EPA determined that a cleanup action was needed. Under EPA oversight, the contaminated areas of the site were cleaned up by the responsible parties (the site owners) in April and May of 2002. Some areas where contaminated soil was excavated were backfilled with clean material and then paved. On May 29, 2002, EPA performed a final inspection of the site and subsequently issued a letter of compliance to the site owners. MTA Railroad performed a cleanup of the railroad track area after the completion of the April/May 2002 site cleanup. The ATSDR health consultation report for this site can be found at ATSDR.

GAO-09-6R