According to reports, it’s been more than 50 years since the Fillmore oil refinery closed, but Texaco is still in the process of cleaning the contaminated soil and groundwater of that surrounding the Superfund site. The air, water, and soil is reportedly soaked in benzene and other toxic contaminants, posing a threat to the people and environment living near the site.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EOA) officials claim Texaco and its parent company, Chevron, have been working vigorously on cleaning up the site, which is located just east of Fillmore’s downtown. However, there are still high levels of benzene that have been detected in the water and soil. This week EPA officials reportedly asked Texaco to take the next steps necessary to eliminate the problem as quickly as possible. 

Harmful Chemicals Still Plague Site

Due to the dynamics of the water table, compounds like benzene, which have been linked to the development of leukemia and other cancers of the blood, reportedly don’t pose a threat to drinking water in the community, says EPA project manager Holly Hadlock. But she does not that the site still needs to be cleaned up.

"With these levels of contamination in the soil, there is no immediate threat to anyone’s health but for a long-term use they are above levels we want," explains Hadlock.

It’s been years since Texaco first started the process of extracting the contaminated water from the site. However, even with all their supposed efforts, the water and soil at the site is still said to be highly contaminated. Hadlock says that a major problem is that the soil has a lot of clay, which is making it hard to extract all of the benzene from the ecosystem.

With the recent push from the EPA, Texaco now has is being forced to submit a plan on how they plan on removing the benzene by next year. Although, this ongoing cleanup process is expected to take several more years.