Mid-Atlantic Superfund

EPA Region 3 (Mid-Atlantic)

Pennsylvania
Philadelphia

EPA ID# PA09715900005

1st Congressional District

Last Update: January 2013

Other Names

None

Current Site Status

Fifty two individual areas of interest have been identified and listed in the BRAC Clean-up Plan (BCP). Each of these are individual sites where hazardous materials may have been generated, stored, handled, or released. Each has been investigated by the BRAC Clean-up Team, and appropriate actions have been taken where necessary to ensure the area does not constitute a threat to human health or the environment. Upon completion of the investigation, and remediation where necessary, a "No Further Action" decision document was drafted, made available to the public for comment, and then finalized. To date, 51 such documents have been completed. The remaining area of interest is a sub-surface petroleum product plume, and any decision regarding the plume is dependent upon the outcome of an ongoing risk assessment. A fate and transport study is currently being conducted as part of that risk assessment and it includes sampling of the deep aquifer underlying the site.

Site Description

The Defense Supply Center Philadelphia (formally the Defense Personnel Support Center) is undergoing base closure in accordance with the Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC). DSPC is located South Philadelphia; it consists of approximately 86 acres of which 95% is paved or developed with buildings. It is owned by the U.S. Army, and operated by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). DSCP lies in the vicinity of several bulk petroleum refining and storage facilities. Other adjacent properties are commercial establishments and residential areas. Former operations involving hazardous materials included sponging cloth with pesticide at the clothing factory, testing bulk chemicals at the laboratory, and repairing and painting military vehicles.

Site Responsibility

This site is being addressed though the Department of Defense's Installation Restoration Program. A BRAC Clean-up Team with representatives from the PADEP, U.S. EPA, and the DLA has been formed to direct the investigation and clean-up activities.

NPL Listing History

The facility is not listed on the NPL, but is being addressed as a BRAC site.

Threats and Contaminants

DDT had been used in the factory as a pesticide. Leaking underground tanks may have resulted in the release of organic solvents, fuels, and pesticides to the soils. A petroleum product plume exists on top of the groundwater table under a portion of the site, and off-site as well.

Cleanup Progress

Several environmental investigations have been conducted and extensive sampling and analysis has taken place. DDT removal was completed in the factory building. Numerous underground storage tanks have been removed, along with any surrounding contaminated soils. All PCB containing transformers have been removed from the site. Other areas where hazardous materials have been stored or used have been investigated, and it has been determined that no further action is necessary. The source of the petroleum plume is being investigated and is being addressed under a separate Consent Order involving DSCP and the PADEP. The DLA is currently removing free product from within its boundaries, approximately 985,000 gallons of product has been removed to date and an offsite removal system has also been constructed and placed into operation.

Contacts

Site Contacts

Administrative Record Locations