Hazardous Substance Research Centers/South & Southwest

Site location

Various Oil and Gas Exploration and Production (E&P) waste disposal facilities in the State of Louisiana.

Site description

Unregulated E&P waste disposal sites have come under close scrutiny by communities and regulators after an incident occurred at a disposal facility in Grand Bois, Louisiana. The community of Grand Bois experienced severe health problems after a combined waste was disposed of in 1994 at an adjacent E&P waste disposal facility.

Organization requesting assistance

Louisiana Branch of the Sierra Club
Louisiana Citizens for a Clean Environment

Beginning date of assistance

February 1998

Summary of TOSC assistance (last service December 2001)

Representatives of the Louisiana Branch of the Sierra Club and the Louisiana Citizens for a Clean Environment contacted the TOSC office at Louisiana State University (LSU) for assistance on specific concerns in Grand Bois, Louisiana, and other Louisiana E&P waste disposal facilities. Grand Bois is adjacent to the site of an E&P waste disposal facility. In 1994, the facility accepted a shipment of E&P waste which may have been combined with other chemical (hazardous) waste. The community of Grand Bois feels that they have been exposed to toxic oilfield waste and are suffering from past and present exposure to this waste. In response to public concern over this situation, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) promulgated an Emergency Rule which outlines comprehensive and systematic testing of oilfield waste disposed of in commercial facilities throughout the state.

Once contacted, TOSC began assisting the environmental community groups as well as all communities in Louisiana which have oilfield waste sites nearby. TOSC is assisting on several fronts:

providing technical support to environmental community groups to aid in the citizens input to the framework of the Emergency Rule as well as any permanent rules which may be promulgated by the State of Louisiana.
participating with the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR) to assess the environmental impact of the E&P waste facility in the community of Grand Bois.
providing advice to the DNR on the Emergency Rule test data and testing protocols and aid in the creation of permanent testing and treatment rules.