February 2011 

# Sola Optical Superfund SiteUnited States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 975 Hawthorne Street (SFD-6-3)San Francisco, CA 94105Attn: Alejandro Díaz (Sola 2/11)Official BusinessPenalty for Private Use, $300Address Service RequestedFIRST-CLASS MAILPOSTAGE & FEES**PAID**U.S. EPAPermit No. G-35


# EPA Reviews Cleanup of Site

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has completed its third five-year review for the Sola Optical USA, Inc. Superfund Site (Site) in Petaluma, California. The purpose of the five-year review process is to evaluate whether a Superfund cleanup remedy is still protective of human health and the environment. 

# Information Repositories

Two information repositories hold the third five-year review report, as well as other relevant documents, for Sola Optical USA, Inc:

U . S . E N V I R O N M E N T A L P R O T E C T I O N A G E N C Y Sola Optical Superfund Site location Petaluma Public Library 100 Fairgrounds Drive Petaluma CA 94952 (707) 763-9801 Mon, Thurs, Fri, Sat: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Tues, Wed: 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Superfund Records Center 95 Hawthorne St., Room 403 Mail Stop SFD-7C San Francisco, CA 94105 (415) 536-2000
Mon-Fri: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Find it on the Web... You can obtain the Five-Year Review Report, as well as other site information, from EPA’s Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/region09/solaoptical

Dante Rodríguez EPA Project Manager 75 Hawthorne Street (SFD-7-1) San Francisco, CA 94105 (415) 972-3166 rodriguez.dante@epa.gov Alejandro Díaz EPA Community Involvement Coordinator 75 Hawthorne Street (SFD-6-3) San Francisco, CA 94105 (415) 972-3242 or Toll free (800) 231-3075 diaz.alejandro@epa.gov Sola Optical USA, Inc. Superfund Site Lakeville Hwy. McDowell Blvd.

Lakeville Hwy. South Ely Rd. Frates Rd. Casa Grande Rd. ROUTE 101 Petaluma River Caulfield Lane Kenilworth Dr.

Shollenberger Park Kenilworth Park

Washington

Washington Square

Cader Ln. Cader Lane L a k e v i l l e H i g h w a y

Shallow Monitoring Well

0 200

FEET Plume Building Parking

Lot

Undeveloped Field

FEET 2,000 0 

# For More Information

If you have questions about the Sola Optical Superfund Site or would like to be added to the mailing list, please contact:

# Summary of Five-Year Review Findings Cleanup Remedy Selected in 1991 ROD Site Background

What is Monitored Natural Attenuation?

MNA is the process by which contaminated groundwater iscleaned-up by natural forces. Natural forces include various physical, chemical and biological processes that act without human intervention to reduce contaminants in groundwater. At the Site,contaminant levels are closely monitored to make sure attenuation is actually occurring. This five-year review was completed in September 2010. The first and second five-year reviews for this Site were completed in September 2000 and September 2005, respectively; and the next five-year review will be performed in 2015, if necessary.

The cleanup for this site is still underway. When it is completed, all contaminant levels will meet the cleanup standard, and use of the property and underlying groundwater will not be restricted or limited. In this five-year review, EPA has determined that the remedy, as specified in the 1991 Record of Decision (ROD) and the 2007 ROD Amendment, is currently protective of human health and the environment. Groundwater contamination has been reduced below the cleanup standard inall but a very limited area around one well, and no one is currently being exposed. However, the five-year review identified follow-up actions that will be taken, including:

Properly implementing permitting restrictions under the 1. County of Sonoma – Permit and Resource Management Department Permits Plus system.

Determining whether a restrictive covenant is needed to 2. prevent groundwater use.

The Sola Site will continue to have Five-Year Reviews in the future until the residual contamination in the groundwater at the Site achieves the clean-up standard. The remedy for the Site, as specified in the 1991 ROD, called for:

Converting two deep monitoring wells to extraction wells, to t prevent the movement of contaminants into the deeper portion of the aquifer;

Constructing two additional shallow extraction wells, to reduce t the clean-up time;

Using the existing carbon filter system to treat any water dist charged off-site to Adobe Creek;

Monitoring the groundwater to confirm capture of the cont taminant plume and to measure progress towards achieving the cleanup standard of 5 micrograms per liter.

In March 2007, EPA issued an amendment to the ROD and added Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA) to the remedy:

MNA to achieve groundwater clean up standards, institutional t controls to protect against inappropriate use of the contaminatedgroundwater until the clean-up standards are achieved, and monitoring of both of the remedy components until clean-up standards are achieved and sustained for groundwater restoration. Sola Optical USA, Inc. manufactured optical lenses on a35-acre site from 1978 through 2001. Six 1,000 gallon underground storage tanks, located behind the north corner of the manufacturing building, were used for storing solvents. In 1982, the California Department of Health Services found acetone in an on-site well. Subsequently, Sola reported that soil adjacent to the six underground solvent storage tanks were contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as was the shallow groundwater beneath the facility. In 1986, the State found low levels of solvents in the Petaluma #5 City Well. The well was shut down until the groundwater cleanup could be completed. Groundwater extraction and treatment occurred atthe Site from 1988 to 1997. By 1997, the groundwater extraction system was no longer reducing contamination concentrations, so it was shut down and groundwater was monitored to see if concentrations increased again. The concentrations did not increase, so in 2001, the groundwater treatment system was dismantled and MNA was used as the Site remedy.

The Sola manufacturing facility closed in October 2001, and the property was sold in 2002. The other part of the Site, an eleven acre property adjacent to the manufacturing facility,was sold to RNM Properties in 2000 for commercial development. Sola Optical, Inc., no longer owns any part of the Site. The former manufacturing facility is currently occupied by at least two different tenants, who use the main building and loading docks.



# EPA