PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT
SOLA OPTICAL USA, INC.
PETALUMA, SONOMA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
The California Department of Health Services (CDHS) has prepared this public health assessment under cooperative agreement with the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). The CDHS/ATSDR public health assessment is a mechanism to provide the community with information on the public health implications of specific hazardous waste sites and identify those populations for which further health actions or studies are indicated. The Public Health Assessment of Sola Optical USA, Inc. is based on a review of the Remedial Investigation report (RI)(1) submitted by Sola Optical USA, Inc.and the Public Health Risk Assessment (2) submitted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) contractor, in conjunction with a site visit. The report serves to update the ATSDR Interim Preliminary Public Health Assessment for Sola Optical USA, Inc. completed by ATSDR March 4, 1992.
The Sola Optical USA, Inc. (Sola) site, located in Petaluma, Sonoma County, California, was placed on the National Priorities List by the EPA on June, 1988. The EPA is the lead governmental agency for the cleanup at the Sola site. Spillage associated with six underground solvent storage tanks resulted in volatile organic contaminants (VOCs) leaking into the subsurface soils and groundwater (1). These underground tanks and some of the surrounding contaminated soil have been excavated and removed from the site (1). Various VOCs have been detected in on-site groundwater at levels of human health concern (3); however the contaminated groundwater is not currently a source of drinking water (1). An on-site groundwater extraction and treatment system has been in operation since 1987 (1).
Based on information reviewed, ATSDR and CDHS have concluded that the Sola site poses
no apparent public health
hazard
. On-site worker exposure is predicted by an
indoor air-model, but the exposure is at a level below that of
health concern. Future significant exposure to groundwater contaminants is unlikely if the
groundwater extraction
and treatment system reduces concentrations
of
site-related contaminants to levels below health concern; no wells
currently in place are used for domestic purposes; the nearby municipal drinking water well is not
used until the
groundwater remediation is complete; and future drinking water wells are not placed in areas of
known contamination
if groundwater remediation does not clean up contaminants to drinking water standards. This site
is not being
considered for follow-up health activities at this time.
A. SITE DESCRIPTION AND HISTORY
Sola Optical USA, Inc. (Sola), a division of Pilkington Visioncare, Inc. is located on a 35-acre site on the southwest side of Petaluma, California (Figure 1). Sola has been manufacturing optical lenses at the site since 1978. From 1978 to 1985, Sola used six 1,000-gallon underground tanks, located near the southwestern corner of the manufacturing building (Figure 2), to store 1,1,1-trichloroethane, acetone, and methanol. In 1982 Sola detected VOCs in the groundwater beneath the site (1). Sola removed the six underground storage tanks in 1985 (1). By 1980 Sola had altered its manufacturing process from a solvent-based to a water/soap-operation, thus decreasing the need for large volumes of VOCs to be stored on-site. The Sola Optical USA, Inc. (Sola) site, located in Petaluma, Sonoma County, California, was placed on the National Priorities List by the EPA on June, 1988. The EPA is the lead governmental agency for the cleanup at the Sola site.
Sola has installed thirty-seven wells on or near the Sola site to monitor the VOC contamination in the groundwater (1). The monitoring has shown that the contaminated groundwater plume, to date, seems to extend from behind the Sola building to the southwest corner of the Sola property (Figure 2). Remediation of the groundwater began in 1987 (1). Currently there are 9 extraction wells on the Sola site (Figure 2).
On June 19, 1991, staff from the CDHS/ATSDR project, toured the Sola site and surrounding neighborhood. The Executive Vice-President of Operations and the Manager of Environmental Affairs for Sola showed us around the Sola property.
The manufacturing facilities, warehouse facilities, and offices are contained in a large two-story building (106,000 square feet-ground floor) on the northern edge of the Sola property. Behind the Sola building (the southern side), there are loading docks and chemical storage areas (2500 pound containers behind cyclone fencing). The groundwater treatment system is located where the tanks were removed from and is also surrounded by a cyclone fence.
Asphalted paving surrounds the building with employee/visitor parking located on the western and eastern sides of the building. The asphalt extends for approximately 60 feet to the south of the building. The rest of the Sola property is not landscaped and periodically-mowed wild grass covers the land.
Figure 1. Sola Optical USA, Inc. site and surrounding Petaluma area showing contaminated
ground-water plume.
Figure 2. Sola Optical USA, Inc. site showing former underground storage tank locations
("cylinder") and ground-water remediation.
C. DEMOGRAPHICS, LAND USE, AND NATURAL RESOURCE USE
Demographics
The population of Petaluma is approximately 36,000 persons. The City of Petaluma is located north to northwest of the site.
Residents closest to the site are directly across Lakeville Highway to the northwest. In this residential area which extends about a half mile from the site, there are subdivisions of single family homes and duplexes. Approximately 2,060 persons live in this area.
Land Use
Sola is in a designated industrial park located to the southwest of Petaluma. The industrial park is not fully developed and thus there is a lot of open space covered with natural grasses surrounding the Sola property on the south side of Lakeville Highway. To the north of the Sola property and across Lakeville Highway is farmland used for hay growing. To the northwest of Sola is a recent development of family dwellings. Currently, there are no residential areas to the south of the site in the direction of the Petaluma River. The property that borders the Sola property on the south is privately owned and a house was located there until it was torn down in 1986.
Natural Resource Use
Groundwater
Five major water-bearing zones (aquifers)-defined as the shallow, intermediate-, deep, deeper, and deepest zones exist at the site (1). The approximate depths (below ground level) at which these zones occur at the Sola site are as follows: shallow: up to 30 feet; intermediate: 30-60 feet; deep: 61 to 100 feet; deeper: 101 to 200 feet; and deepest: greater than 200 feet. Geological investigations conducted at the site by Sola show that the sediments down to 100 feet consist mainly of interbedded clays, silts, sands, and gravel. Below depths of 100 feet, thicker clay intervals (about 30 to 60 feet) are found. The groundwater flows generally toward the southwest towards Adobe Creek and the Petaluma River.
There are four wells near the Sola property that are not monitoring wells. The two deep wells are municipal wells. Sola City well was installed by Sola to fulfill its commitment to the City of Petaluma when Sola established its facility there. Water from this well was intended for use in processing activities at the Sola plant in the event that Sola's water consumption required it. The Sola City well water has never been used, i.e., it is an inactive well. The well has a screened interval from 60 to 280 feet below ground surface.
The City of Petaluma Station 5 well is located 300 feet north of the site at Lakeville Highway and Frates Road. The well has a screened interval from 180 to 512 feet below ground surface. Sola and the City of Petaluma have entered into a written agreement whereby the Sola City well and Station 5 well will remain closed until the city is satisfied that further investigations are not needed and that there is no threat of drawing contaminated water into these wells. The city may operate the Station 5 well for specifically defined periods of time for water sampling and during a period of natural disaster.
The other two wells are privately owned shallow wells, the Stero and the Crandell well. From 1981 to April 1990, the water from the Stero well was used for industrial purposes at the Stero facility. Stero was connected to the city water supply for non-industrial purposes. Sola and Stero have entered into an agreement providing for Stero to use City-supplied water for industrial purposes as well. Sola removed the pumping system from the Stero well in May 1990.
Sola and the Crandell well property owner have entered into an agreement whereby the Crandell property has been connected to the City of Petaluma water service. Sola arranged for the Crandell well to be correctly abandoned in October 1990.
Surface water
Adobe Creek lies 0.3 miles west of the site and flows into the Petaluma River, approximately 1 mile from the site (Figure 1). The Petaluma River empties into San Pablo Bay, 8 miles from the confluence with Adobe Creek. There are no resources currently of interest in Adobe Creek, although there are several invertebrates and fish of interest to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Petaluma River (2). Recently a local high school started an artificial propagation of steelhead fish along Adobe Creek, with assistance from the California Department of Fish and Game (2). The Petaluma Marsh State Wetland Area extends along the west bank of the Petaluma River from Adobe Creek to the river's entrance into San Pablo Bay.
There are two CDHS health outcome registries with data pertinent to the area around Sola.
The state's cancer
reporting system (CDHS California Tumor Registry) began collecting
data for the region that includes the Sola site
and surrounding area in 1988. In 1987, the CDHS Birth Defects Monitoring Program began
collecting data for
Sonoma County, where Sola is located.
Residents and local officials do not appear to have community health concerns related to the Sola site. According to the EPA Community Relations Plan, prior to mid-1988 when articles appeared in two local newspapers, there was little community knowledge about groundwater contamination associated with Sola (4). The articles described that Sola was being proposed for the NPL and included the criteria for inclusion on the list. Local officials reported that at that time they received some inquiries from members of the public seeking reassurance about the quality of the drinking water. Officials felt that they were able to adequately address the concerns. After the initial inquiries in the wake of the articles, there were no further concerns expressed by the public. During this time, Sola management provided regular updates to their employees about the status of the site and encouraged employees to express their concerns.
In October 1989, the EPA released a fact sheet describing the Superfund process as it would pertain to Sola Optical, Inc. In February 1991, the EPA released a fact sheet describing the results of the remedial investigation conducted in the summer and fall of 1990 (5). The fact sheet stated that based on the investigation, the site did not pose an immediate danger to air quality or the local water supply, but that the Feasibility Study would further characterize the contaminants at the site and evaluate soil and groundwater cleanup alternatives. An EPA fact sheet describing the Proposed Plan for the cleanup at Sola became available in June 1991 (6). The fact sheet described the process for determining health risks and identifying the chemicals at the site which were of most concern. Five cleanup alternatives and the criteria for evaluating those alternatives were presented. There was an announcement for the public comment period and the community Meeting on June 25, 1991.
Approximately fifteen people attended the community meeting on June 25, 1991. Attendees were either from state or federal agencies or management and employees from Sola. The Remedial Project Manager gave a presentation about the history of the site and the cleanup alternatives. People attending the meeting did not voice any health-related concerns but were mainly concerned about when the site could be delisted. People were disturbed that a geographical representation of the California Superfund sites in a San Francisco Chronicle article (May 31, 1991) implied that Sola was the #2 hazardous waste site in the state of California. At the end of the meeting the CDHS/ATSDR Community Relations staff met an employee of Sola who also lives in the housing development northwest of the site. He said that he was unaware of any health concerns related to the site but that he would do an informal survey in his neighborhood. Subsequently, he spoke with half a dozen people who lived in the housing tract across the street from Sola and none of them had any health concerns related to the site.
Although there were no health-related questions at the community meeting, one person who had been unable to attend the meeting due to ill health sent a letter to EPA during the official public comment period identifying the following concerns:
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