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MEMORANDUM • CALIFORNIA REGIONAL WATER QUALITY CONTROL BOARD • CENTRAL VALLEY REGION 3443 Router Road, Suite A Phone: (916)255-3000 Sacramento, CA 95827-3098 CALNET:8-494-3000 To: Wendy L. Cohen From: Polly A. Lowry Senior Engineer Associate Engineering Geologist DATE: 22 January 1996 SIGNATURE: Subject: SOIL AND GROUND WATER CONTAMWA TIONA TALL PURE CHEMICAL COMPANY, TRACY I have reviewed the file on All Pure Chemical Company (All Pure) in Tracy. The Board has known of ground water contamination at the site since July 1989. The horizontal and vertical extent of chloroform and carbon tetrachloride contamination have not been determined. A ground water extraction and treatment system will be installed for the Tracy Defense Depot(TDD)north of All Pure during 1996. TDD is concerned that pumping from its extraction system will result in migration of the chloroform/carbon tetrachloride contamination at the All Pure site to the north towards the extraction system. I have summarized below some of the investigations conducted at All Pure and other nearby facilities known to have ground water contamination. Background All Pure is at 26700 South Banta Road in Tracy. The facility is on a seven-acre site just to the east of TDD (see Figure 1). Land use in the area is primarily agricultural. Development of small acreage homesites and subdivisions is spreading from Tracy in this direction. The site is bounded on the south by alfalfa cropland and on the west by Banta Road. Beyond Banta Road is primarily agricultural land. To the east the site is bordered by an abandoned Associated Oil pipeline, the Southern Pacific Railroad, a Southern Pacific multiproduct pipeline and a Banta Carbona Irrigation District cement lined irrigation canal. The TDD is located approximately one and a half miles to the northwest. The site was agricultural land until an alfalfa dehydrating plant was constructed there in 1947. The plant operated from 1948 until 1957. A tire storage and sorting operation occupied the site from 1957 until 1970. Used tires were sorted at this operation, with tires that could be recapped being sold. A 6,000 to 10,000 gallon underground fuel tank was installed in 1947 for storage of heavy bunker fuel for the alfalfa dehydrating plant. The tank was only used for six months. The tank was emptied and abandoned shortly after installation since it was discovered that the fuel could not be efficiently used in the boiler. . The site was vacant from 1970 until 1975, when All Pure purchased the site. Since 1975, All Pure has manufactured various swimming pool chemicals, including bleach. Chlorine gas and sulfur dioxide gas are transferred from railroad tank cars to smaller cylinders.