Carter Carburetor Site in St. Louis, Missouri
The Carter Carburetor Site, located at 2840 N. Spring Avenue in St. Louis, was operated by the Carter Carburetor Corporation and Carter Automotive Products, both of which were subsidiaries of ACF Industries Inc., from the 1920s until about 1984. The plant consisted of several connected multistory manufacturing, testing, office, and warehouse buildings that contained approximately 480,000 square feet of space. During its operational life, the plant manufactured carburetors for gasoline- and diesel-powered engines. In 1984, ACF Industries Inc. closed the plant and dismantled much of the equipment. The site is adjacent to the Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club of St. Louis.
Although numerous chemicals were used in the plant's manufacturing process, the primary environmental contaminants that remained at the site include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), trichloroethylene (TCE), and asbestos. The site has had multiple previous removal actions, which included demolishing the former die-cast building and placing a temporary cap on the die-cast soils; constructing a security fence to prevent exposures to individuals who entered the former dilapidated buildings; and asbestos and debris removal to prepare the buildings for demolition.
As part of the most recent non-time-critical removal action, the potentially responsible party (PRP) excavated highly-concentrated soils from the die-cast area and disposed of the soils off-site. The former CBI building was demolished and lower-level, PCB-impacted debris and soils were placed into the excavated die-cast area as beneficial reuse backfill. The die-cast area was capped to prevent disturbance of the soils beneath. The TCE aboveground storage tank area was addressed using in-situ thermal desorption. The PRP submitted its final report for EPA approval, which was completed on May 4, 2020.
EPA is continuing to work with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the city of St. Louis, and other stakeholders to determine potential reuses of the site.