Indian Bend Wash Area
{{Short description|Superfund cleanup site in Arizona}}
{{Infobox superfund
| embed =
| name = Indian Bend Wash Area
| image = NIBW Superfund 2005 map.svg
| caption = North Indian Bend Wash contamination area map
| city = Scottsdale and Tempe
| county = Maricopa
| state = Arizona
| location_map = USA Arizona Maricopa County#USA Arizona
| CERCLIS_ID = AZD980695969
| contaminants = Trichloroethylene
| responsible =
- Motorola
- Siemens
- GlaxoSmithKline
- The Salt River Project
- City of Scottsdale
| proposed = {{start date|1982|12|30}}
| listed = {{start date|1983|09|08}}
| construction = {{end date|2006|09|28}}
| partial_del = {{end date|2003|05|01}}
| deleted =
}}
The Indian Bend Wash area is a Superfund cleanup site in Scottsdale and Tempe, Arizona. It was declared a Superfund site in 1983 after industrial solvents were discovered to have contaminated the groundwater in an approximately {{convert|13|mi2|km2|adj=on}} area. It is one of the largest EPA sites in terms of volume of groundwater treated, estimated at {{convert|61.3|e9USgal|m3}}.{{cite web |title=INDIAN BEND WASH AREA Site Profile: Background |url=https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.cleanup&id=0900673#bkground |website=cumulis.epa.gov |publisher=EPA |access-date=3 October 2024 |language=en}}
During the 1960s, it was typical for companies to dispose industrial solvents directly into the ground and into dry wells.{{cite journal |last1=Colten |first1=Craig E. |title=Creating a Toxic Landscape: Chemical Waste Disposal Policy and Practice, 1900–1960 |journal=Environmental History Review |date=1 March 1994 |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=85–116 |doi=10.2307/3984746 |jstor=3984746 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3984746 |access-date=3 October 2024|url-access=subscription }}{{cite web |title=The Origins of EPA |url=https://www.epa.gov/history/origins-epa |website=www.epa.gov |publisher=US EPA |access-date=3 October 2024 |language=en |date=29 January 2013}} In 1981, volatile organic compounds (VOC) were detected in Tempe and Scottsdale city wells, including trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), and chloroform. The wells were shut down immediately, and the area was declared a Superfund site in 1983. Potentially responsible parties Motorola, Siemens, GlaxoSmithKline, along with several smaller companies, have paid for the approximately $100 million in cleanup costs. Cleanup has consisted of several stations that pump and treat groundwater.
The area consists of two cleanup sites, the North Indian Bend Wash (NIBW) Superfund site located in Scottsdale (approximately 8 square miles), and the South Indian Bend Wash (SIBW) Superfund site located in Tempe.{{cite news |author1=Chase Golightly |title=Some Arizonans are living on contaminated land. Are you? |url=https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/valley/highly-contaminated-areas-called-superfund-sites-in-the-valley/75-3fdc5f53-44a5-4558-ab0c-f1de3cfd70f2 |access-date=3 October 2024 |work=12news.com |date=3 October 2023}}
For eight days in October 2007, trichloroethylene tainted water was released into the water supply of 1500 residents of Scottsdale by the Arizona American Water Company.{{cite news |last1=Balazs |first1=Diana |title=Tainted water may have entered PV and Scottsdale water supplies |url=https://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/1116taintedwater16-on.html?&wired |access-date=3 October 2024 |work=azcentral.com |date=16 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217102650/https://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/1116taintedwater16-on.html?&wired |archive-date=17 December 2007}}
Notes
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.epa.gov/superfund/search-superfund-sites-where-you-live EPA's Indian Bend Wash Area site overview]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20061105234159/http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/water/superfund/q1.asp City of Scottsdale Fact Sheet]
- [http://www.motorola.com/EHS/environment/remediation/NIBW/faqs/ Motorola's North Indian Bend Wash Superfund website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304115851/http://www.motorola.com/EHS/environment/remediation/NIBW/faqs/ |date=2016-03-04 }}
- [http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/1116taintedwater16-on.html October 2007 Tainted water may be in private company's water supply]
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|33.4803|-111.9118|display=title|region:US-AZ_type:river}}