Stringfellow Acid Pits
The Stringfellow Acid Pits are a hazardous waste disposal site located in Southern California, which operated from August 1956 until November 1972. During its operation, approximately 128 million liters of industrial liquid waste were dumped at the site, primarily including substances like acidic pickling liquor and chemicals from metal finishing and DDT production. The site, situated in Pyrite Canyon near Glen Avon, faced severe contamination issues that escalated after heavy rains in 1969 caused overflow, leading to pollutants entering local waterways. The contamination prompted the Riverside County to revoke the facility's permit after chromium was detected in nearby wells.
Following its closure, the Stringfellow site was designated as a top-priority federal Superfund site in 1983, leading to extensive cleanup efforts that continued for decades. Investigations found that both groundwater and soil were heavily contaminated with various volatile compounds, heavy metals, and hazardous substances like pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Affected residents experienced health problems, resulting in a significant personal injury lawsuit that culminated in a settlement exceeding $114 million in the 1990s. Cleanup costs were estimated to range between $250 million and $475 million, reflecting the long-term environmental and public health challenges associated with the site.
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Stringfellow Acid Pits
IDENTIFICATION: Hazardous waste disposal facility in Southern California
DATES: Operated from August 1956 to November 1972
The soil and groundwater pollution that resulted from years of dumping of industrial wastes at the Stringfellow Acid Pits was so severe that cleanup efforts continued for decades after the area was declared a top-priority federal Superfund site in 1983.
In the mid-1950’s the state of California sought a location within a one-hour drive of Los Angeles that could serve as a for liquid industrial wastes. One promising site was Pyrite Canyon, located in a semirural area in the southern portion of the Jurupa Mountains near the of Glen Avon in Riverside County. James Stringfellow, who operated a quarry in Pyrite Canyon, made an agreement with the state to allow disposal on a portion of his property. Disposal of liquid industrial wastes at the Stringfellow site commenced in August 1956.
Over the next several years, roughly 128 million liters (34 million gallons) of liquid wastes were hauled to the 7-hectare (17-acre) state-licensed dump site. These wastes—including acidic pickling liquor from steel plants and other wastes from metal finishing, electroplating, and production of the Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT)—were discharged into unlined evaporation ponds. Hundreds of private and public entities in California and Nevada contributed wastes to the facility during its operation.
In 1969 heavy rains flooded the Stringfellow Acid Pits, causing contaminated from the overflowing disposal ponds to flow into Pyrite Creek and Pyrite Creek Channel, and from there into the community of Glen Avon. Subsequently, the facility operator worked with engineers to improve site integrity so the facility could continue operations. However, when chromium was detected in the well of the quarry office roughly 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) from the site, Riverside County revoked Stringfellow’s special land-use permit. The operator closed the facility in November 1972, and ownership of the site later reverted to the state of California because of the owner’s failure to pay back taxes. Between 1975 and 1980, the state conducted studies to determine the type and extent of contamination and initiated cleanup efforts.
Groundwater beneath and from the site was found to be contaminated with volatile compounds such as trichloroethane and heavy metals such as cadmium, chromium, manganese, and nickel. Elevated levels of were later determined to be naturally occurring and unrelated to the acid pits. Heavy metals were also found in the soil, along with pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and sulfates.
Public objection to the site was galvanized in 1978, when another season of heavy rains led the California Regional Water Quality Control Board to authorize a controlled of 3 million liters (800,000 gallons) of from the site to avert flooding and uncontrolled discharge. As the contaminated water flowed through the streets of Glen Avon, residents experienced dizzy spells, breathing problems, and other health effects. Chronic illnesses spurred the community to file a personal injury lawsuit in 1984 against the state of California and two hundred companies that had contributed wastes to the site. One decade later, a settlement of more than $114 million was reached.
In 1980 the federal government became involved in site cleanup. The Stringfellow Acid Pits were made a high-priority cleanup site under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, known as Superfund, in 1983 when the site was included on the US Environmental Protection Agency’s National Priorities List. Federal and state authorities continued to work with a group of private parties to remediate the contamination through the first decade of the twenty-first century. Total cleanup costs were projected to be between $250 million and $475 million.
Bibliography
"Bill Expanding Protection of Stringfellow Acid Pits in Jurupa Valley Signed by Newsome." Sabrina Cervantes Assemblymember, District 58, 11 Sept. 2023, a58.asmdc.org/news/20230911-bill-expanding-protection-stringfellow-acid-pits-jurupa-valley-signed-newsom. Accessed 23 July 2024.
Glazer, Myron Peretz, and Penina Migdal Glazer. “On the Trail of Courageous Behavior.” In Environmental Sociology: From Analysis to Action, edited by Leslie King and Deborah McCarthy. 2d ed. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2009.
Gottlieb, Robert. “Grassroots and Direct Action: Alternative Movements.” In Forcing the Spring: The Transformation of the American Environmental Movement. Rev. ed. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2005.
Hitt, Jack. “Toxic Dreams: A California Town Finds Meaning in an Acid Pit.” Harper’s Magazine, July, 1995, 57-66.