OSWER/OSRTI

Washington, DC 20460

NATIONAL PRIORITIES LIST (NPL) 

***Proposed Site*** December 2013 

MACMILLAN RING FREE OIL Norphlet, Arkansas

Union County

 Site Location:

MacMillan Ring Free Oil is an abandoned refinery located in Norphlet, Union County, Arkansas. The 100 acre facility 

is bordered by a residential subdivision and the Norphlet Public School on the west, Hayes Creek on the north and 

east, and Massey Creek and bottomlands associated with the creek to the southwest. 

 Site History:

MacMillan Ring-Free Oil Refinery operated as a crude oil refinery and manufacturer of lubrication oil and asphalt 

products from 1929 to 1987. The property was sold in 1989 to Nor-Ark Industrial Corp who used the on-site storage 

tanks for asphalt products until March of 1991 when the company filed for bankruptcy. The facility was refurbished by 

Norphlet Chemical as a chemical manufacturing plant in early 2004 t o produce tetrafluoroethane (Freon 134A) an 

automotive refrigerant. The plant never operated as intended and failed to produce the product. In 2007 the facility was 

abandoned and has remained vacant. The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) placed the site on 

the State Priority List under the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission’s Regulation No. 30 due to the 

potential for soil, surface water and/or ground water contamination and the need to remediate the site to protective 

levels. The ADEQ conducted a Comprehensive Site Assessment which developed remedial alternatives and, in

November 2011, referred the site to the EPA for NPL consideration. 

 Site Contamination/Contaminants:

Surface and subsurface soil, ground water and surface water/sediment are contaminated with polycyclic aromatic 

hydrocarbons (PAHs), total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) and metals.

 Potential Impacts on Surrounding Community/Environment: 

Surface water and ground water is contaminated. Sampling conducted by the EPA and ADEQ indicate that there may 

be as much as a foot of petroleum product underlying the facility. Currently there are several active seeps of waste 

discharging into surface drainage pathways and wetland areas north of the site. Without remediation of the site, 

additional releases to ground water, surface water and soil will continue to occur. 

 Response Activities (to date):

Extensive assessment and removal actions were completed at MacMillan in the early 1990s addressing free liquids in 

the impoundments and active releases to surface water. Wastes were treated on-site and treated materials were used to 

backfill the impoundments. In April 2009, a removal action by the EPA of tanks containing anhydrous hydrofluoric 

acid (AHF) and AHF mixtures was conducted; these tanks were associated with Norphlet Chemical operations. 

 Need for NPL Listing:

The site was referred to the EPA in 2011 from the state of Arkansas. Without listing, the site contamination will 

continue to pose a risk to human health and the environment. Other federal and state cleanup programs were evaluated, 

but are not viable at this time. The EPA received a letter of support for placing this site to the NPL from the state.

[The description of the site (release) is based on information available at the time the site was evaluated with the HRS. The description may 

change as additional information is gathered on the sources and extent of contamination. See 56 FR 5600, February 11, 1991, or subsequent 

FR notices.]

For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to 

these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on 

the Internet at http://www.atsdr.csc.gov/toxfaqs/index.asp or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.