Basic Vegetable Products processed onions and garlic on a 29-acre site in Vacaville. The company contributed to California’s agricultural industry for more than fifty years before closing in 1986.

The property was unused for nearly a decade until 1986 when the Redevelopment Agency of Vacaville wanted to create a sports and recreation center and buildings for commercial and industrial use at the site. Because the business did not use hazardous substances in its operations, there was little thought that the ground might be contaminated. However, redevelopment can be full of surprises. An environmental assessment discovered high levels of lead on a 3.5-acre portion of the property.

This property is an example of past practices resulting in present problems. Historic steel production generated huge amounts of a gravel-like waste product called “slag” that accumulated in vast heaps around the steel manufacturing facility. Attempts to reuse this material included using it as fill material for construction projects. Unfortunately, slag was later discovered to contain residual metals including lead that can contaminate surrounding soil. Now the residues of
steel production are found in many unlikely places. At the Basic Vegetable Products site, slag formed the base for an abandoned rail line.

Read Remainder of Story at DTSC web site

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 18th, 2007 at 9:14 pm and is filed under ●Brownfields Success Stories.

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