KOPPERS COMPANY FACILITIES SITE
NEWPORT, NEW CASTLE COUNTY, DELAWARE
CONCLUSIONS
The Koppers Site in Newport Delaware is an indeterminate public health hazard. The limited
available data do not allow us to determine if people are being, have been, or will be exposed to
levels of contamination from this site that would be expected to cause adverse health effects.
Preliminary results from soil and sediment sampling and one route of exposure, ingestion,
indicate that adverse health effects may be possible. The possibility that a pica child would enter
the site or area and consume sediment and soil in amounts sufficient to cause adverse health
effects is remote.
Although the area is posted with "No Trespassing" signs, no fence or other barrier exists along
the site's northern boundary to prevent access to the site. Therefore, nearby residents, hunters,
and other trespassers may be exposed to site contamination.
Children under six with pica who live adjacent to the site, north of the railroad tracks, have the
greatest potential for adverse health effects due to exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,
arsenic, cadmium, and lead. We assumed that such a child would consume 5000 mg (5 grams)
soil per day, 20 days a year, for one year, although it is highly unlikely that children of this age
would gain access to the site.
Data inadequacies include the following:
Environmental data for surface soil (less than three inches deep), subsurface soil, ground
water, surface water, and ambient air do not adequately characterize the extent or amount of site
contamination that may exist on or off the site.
Data on the quality of water from the private wells of residents and businesses along Old
Airport Road are inadequate.
Adequate data does not exist to ascertain whether or not PAHs or other contaminants exist in
surface soils or surface waters in quantities that might volatilize and affect air quality.
Health outcome data has not been obtained; consequently we cannot evaluate possible
correlation between adverse health effects and site contaminants.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Cease/Reduce Exposure Recommendations
Appropriate measures should be taken to prevent access to the site and therefore, decrease the
potential for trespasser exposure to site contamination. Other cease/reduce exposure
recommendations cannot be made at this time because the nature and extent of contamination is
not known. Those recommendations contingent on site characterization recommendations
mentioned in section 8.2.
Site Characterizations Recommendations
Surface (0-3") and subsurface soil (>3"), sediment, surface-water, and ground-water samples
should be taken, both on and off site, to further and more completely characterize the extent of
contamination. This includes sampling on-site soil, on-site surface waters, on-site ground water,
off-site ground water, off-site surface waters, and sediments from the Christina River.
If the data from the above recommended soil or surface water sampling show high levels of
volatile contaminants, air monitoring should be performed to determine degree of air
contamination.
If the data from ground-water sampling show the presence of contamination at levels of health
concern, a well survey (e.g., use, type, depth of well, etc.) should be conducted for all private and
public wells adjacent to the site and downgradient of the site.
If sediment samples from the Christina River show high levels of contamination, aquatic biota
(e.g., fish) should be sampled to determine possible exposure through the aquatic food chain
pathway.
If appropriate measures to prevent unlimited site access are not instituted and if on site
surface-soil or on site surface-water sampling indicates contamination at levels of concern,
terrestrial biota (e.g., dove, rabbits, deer, etc.) should be sampled and studied for evaluation of
the potential food-chain pathway.
Health Activities Recommendation Panel (HARP) Recommendations
In accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability
Act (CERCLA) of 1980, as amended, the Koppers Co., Inc. site in Newport, Delaware has been
evaluated to determine the need for follow-up health activities. However, at this time data are
insufficient to characterize the extent of human exposure, therefore only potential exposure
pathways can be identified. Potential exposure pathways include ingestion and dermal contact
with surface soil and sediments; ingestion, dermal contact, and inhalation of private well water;
inhalation of contaminated vapors; and ingestion of terrestrial and aquatic organisms.
No follow-up health activities are proposed at this time for the following reasons:
Although local citizens reported nausea, burning throat and watery eyes associated with odors
from the site in 1978, no recent health concerns have been reported to local or state health
officials.
Past, present, and future human exposures to contaminants at levels of public health concern
cannot be determined due to insufficient environmental data.
An evaluation of the potential for site related adverse health effects cannot be conducted until
additional characterization is completed. This includes characterization of on-site soil, on-site
surface waters, on-site groundwater, off-site groundwater, off-site surface waters, and sediments
from the Christina River.
PUBLIC HEALTH ACTIONS
The purpose of the Public Health Action Plan (PHAP) is to ensure that this preliminary public
health assessment not only identifies public health hazards but also provides a plan of action
designed to mitigate and prevent adverse human health effects resulting from exposure to
hazardous substances in the environment.
ATSDR will collaborate with appropriate federal, state, and local agencies to pursue the
implementation of the recommendations outlined in this preliminary public health assessment.
Due to insufficient data needed to characterize human exposure at this site, no further public
health actions can be identified at this time.
ATSDR will evaluate this PHAP annually unless additional information warrants more frequent
evaluation.
PREPARERS OF REPORT
M. S. Hanson
Research Assistant
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Health and Safety Research Division
Dennis B. Miller
Environmental Scientist
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Health and Safety Research Division
ATSDR Regional Representative
Paul Racette
ATSDR Regional Representative
ATSDR Region III
CERTIFICATION
This Koppers Company, Inc. Site Public Health Assessment was prepared by the Oak Ridge
National Laboratory under a contract with the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
(ATSDR). It is in accordance with approved methodology and procedures existing at the time
the public health assessment was begun.
The Division of Health Assessment and Consultation, ATSDR, has reviewed this public health
assessment, and concurs with its findings.
Robert C. Williams, P.E., DEE Director, DHAC, ATSDR
REFERENCES
Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Solid Waste Branch.
Preliminary Assessment of Koppers Company (ERRIS). 1984.
NUS Corporation Superfund Division. Site Inspection of Koppers Company, TDD Number
F3-8411. February 27, 1986.
Karmazyn, J., DuPont Environmental Project Manager, Personal Communication, telephone
conversations, August 1991.
Town of Newport, Delaware, "Selected Population and Housing Characteristics", 1990.
Roberts, R., Delaware Fish and Wildlife Department -- New Castle County, August 21, 1991.
Johnston, Richard H. Hydrology of the Columbia (Pleistocene) Deposits of Delaware: An
Appraisal of A Regional Water-Table Aquifer. Newark, Delaware, June 1973.
Martin, M. M., and J.M. Denver, United States Department of Interior Geologic Survey.
Hydrologic data for the Potomac Formation in New Castle County, Delaware. 1982.
Sundstrom, R.W. and Pickett, T.E. Availability of Groundwater in New Castle County,
Newark, Delaware, 1971.
ATSDR. 1989. Draft Toxicological Profile for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons. U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Agency for Toxic Substances
and Disease Registry, Atlanta, Georgia.
ATSDR. 1989. Draft Toxicological Profile for Arsenic. U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Public Health Service, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry,
Atlanta, Georgia.
ATSDR. 1989. Draft Toxicological Profile for Cadmium. U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Public Health Service, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry,
Atlanta, Georgia.
ATSDR. 1988. Draft Toxicological Profile for Lead. U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, Public Health Service, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Atlanta,
Georgia.
