City of Austin

English

Texas ScholarWorks

Shoal Creek: 4,01916Stream sediment from toxic waste sites comparable to Austin test sites*Results of Austin’s stream sediment tests, 1991-2002***Shallow soil from Superfund toxic waste sites comparable to Austin test sites*Shallow soil from Austin test sites***Waller Creek: 419,778 ppb1Dry creek bed below apartments at Barton Creek: 60,026CDrainage ditch near Spyglass Spring on Barton Creek: 132,674BHillside at Barton Hills ParkPlace apartments just aboveBarton Springs Pool: 355,576AUnited Creosote, Conroe, Texas; surface soil, industrial site: 2,180Lincoln Creosote, Bossier City, La.; surface soil, apt. complex: 20,800Lincoln Creosote, Bossier City, La.; surface soil, residential area: 37,000Lincoln Creosote, Bossier City, La.; surface soil, drainage ditch: 102,130****United Creosote, Conroe, Texas; surface soil, residential area: 84,000East Bouldin Creek: 65,5862Central Park Pond No. 1: 40,4813Central Park Pond No. 2 : 23,9964Barton Creek tributary at Waterfall Grotto: 18,2325Barton Creek, swimming hole above Barton Springs Pool: 16,6656Hemphill Tributary: 12,6367Central Park Pond No. 3: 10,2958East Bouldin Creek: 9,6839Barton Creek between dams above pool : 7,79911East Bouldin Creek: 6,59212Harpers Branch Creek: 5,30913East Bouldin Creek: 5,20114Shoal Creek: 4,63415East Bouldin Creek: 3,86217East Bouldin Creek: 3,56518Taylor Slough North: 3,45419Taylor Slough North: 2,37220Waller Creek: 1,65521Taylor Slough South: 1,56122Waller Creek: 1,48523Barton Creek, mouth of the creek at Town Lake: 1,46424Blunn Creek: 1,46325Taylor Slough South: 92426Harpers Branch: 49027Shoal Creek: 13728Patrick Bayou, Deer Park, Texas: 2,360 (Superfund site)**Messer Street Manufactured Gas Plant, Laconia, N.H.: 8,200 ppb (Superfund-level site)Barton Springs Pool, composite sample along lower dam: 8,88210(Areas near Barton Springs orBarton Creek are in bold type)(Areas near Barton Springs orBarton Creek are in bold type)*Federal Superfund sites with a declaration of a public healthhazard or cleanups driven by the detection of seven benzene-based compounds, or a combination of those chemicals and othercontaminants. (Messer Street in Laconia, N.H., is a Superfund-level site. New Hampshire environmental officials persuaded theEPA not to add it to the Superfund list because two pollutersvolunteered to clean it up.) The results listed are the highestcomparable levels of the seven benzene compounds reported indocuments from the EPA or the Agency for Toxic Substances andDisease Registry.**At Patrick Bayou in Deer Park, one location of 10 sampled hadhigher levels (23,764 ppb), but EPA officials did not use that resultin their assessment because of suspicions about its validity.****Does not include a 1985 test of surface areas because thetesting process and results weren't comparable.***Results are listed if there has been more than one measurementof the seven benzene-based compounds above 90 ppb at a locationor nearby in the same watershed. All results are from city testsbetween 1991 and 2002. High readings seen only once at a site,and not replicated by other tests at that location or nearby, arenot listed because they may represent errors in laboratory orsampling procedures.Testing for contaminants in AustinComparing the sitesSource: Data from the City of Austin, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Vasin Omér Douglas AMERICAN-STATESMAN    Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are formed duringthe incomplete burning of coal, oil, gas, wood, garbageand other organic materials including tobacco andcharbroiled meats. Seven benzene-based compoundsin this family are probable or possible humancarcinogens and are considered the most common ofthe PAHs that pose the most concern for human health.    PAHs commonly enter the environment throughvolcanoes, forest fires and the exhaust of cars andtrucks. After falling to earth, the solid particles canenter streams and build up in sediments. The chemicalsare commonly found in soil at old industrial sites thatproduced coal tar and aluminum and extracted naturalgas from coal. Other sources of contamination includedecomposing asphalt and used motor oil and greasethat washes off streets and parking lots.    Levels of PAHs that accumulate in soil and sedimentfrom auto exhaust and materials such as asphaltcoatings are typically many times lower than levelsseen at hazardous waste sites, based on nationwidestudies of PAHs in streams and in urban and rural soils.What are PAHs?Dr.Barton Springs Rd.Robert E.LeeDr.ZilkerParkBee CaveRd.SpyglassDr.TreadwellBartonBlvd.KinneyAve.BartonSkyway CliffsideBartonHillsTown LakeBartonCreekBartonSprings122445 6 101124BC ABarton CreekGreenbeltApartments1300,000 350,000 400,000PleasantValley Rd.Montopolis Dr.35183620Ben White Blvd.1Colorado RiverAustin-BergstromInternationalAirportBrushy Creek Rd.Parmer Ln.RoundRockCedarParkMcNeil Dr.1325Parmer Ln.Jollyville Rd.Lamar Blvd.Cameron Rd.ManchacaRd.Stassney Ln.WilliamCannon Dr.Rundberg Ln.Braker Ln.51st St.Howard  Ln.Slaughter Ln.1826LakeTravis2907196935183CampMabryUTRed RiverTown Lake7th St.Enfield Rd.Riverside Dr.S. Congress Ave.35th St.12th St.CesarChavez St.Oltorf St.29035Lamar Blvd.S. First St.45th St.1Area of detail123467891011121314151617181920212225262728ABC524Shoal CreekWaller Creek16178920231,000 ppb: EPA may add site to Superfund priority cleanup list if in neighborhood or park setting10,000 ppb: EPA likely to add site to Superfund priority cleanup list if in neighborhood or park setting

Results of Austin&apos;s stream sediment tests, 1991-2002

https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/2152/64680/1/comparingAustin.pdf

Results of Austin's stream sediment tests, 1991-2002

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Texas ScholarWorks