DEL AMO BLVD AND VERMONT AVE
From 1943 until 1972, the Del Amo Facility site was a center of large-scale industrial activities. Originally built to produce synthetic rubber during World War II and owned by the United States government, the 280-acre operation consisted of a styrene plant operated by Dow Chemical Co., a butadiene plant operated by Shell Oil Co., and a synthetic rubber plant operated by U.S. Rubber Co., Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., and others. In 1955, the U.S. Government sold all three plants to Shell Oil Company and Shell continued to operate these plants until 1971. Synthetic rubber was produced by manufacturing styrene and butadiene separately, piping them to the rubber plant, and then mixing the two together. Within each facility, wastes from the production processes were directed into separator units. Settled sludge from the separator units was disposed of either off site or in a waste disposal area located on site. Six unlined pits and three unlined evaporation ponds made up the 4-acre on-site disposal area. Upon closure in 1972, the unlined pits and ponds that were still open were covered with soil. Most of the 280-acre facility has since been developed as an industrial park. In 1984, contamination was discovered in the waste pit disposal area and underlying soils. Groundwater located beneath the site is heavily contaminated, but is not presently used as a source of drinking water. The deeper drinking water aquifer supplies 34,000 people located within 4 miles of the site. Today, the 4-acre waste pit disposal area is sealed with a RCRA-equivalent cap, and the waste pit area is undeveloped. The Del Amo Facility is bounded to the south by residences and to the west, north, and east by industrial and commercial facilities. Approximately 17,600 people live within 1 mile of the site.
14,163 |
People living within a 1 mile radius |
$38,117 |
Average Income |
4,195 |
Occupied homes |
No stories have been submitted for this site.
