Mid-Atlantic Superfund

EPA Region 3 (Mid-Atlantic)

Maryland
Cecil County
Elkton

EPA ID# MDD000218008

1st Congressional District

Last Update: March 2009

Other Names

Spectron

Current Site Status

It has been five years since the installation of the ground water containment, collection, and treatment system at the Spectron Superfund site. As a result, the tell-tale odor of contaminants leaching into Little Elk Creek is gone. The containment system pumps and treats 40,000 gallons of contaminated ground water everyday. On September 16, 2004, EPA signed a Record of Decision (ROD) for Operable Unit 1 (OU1). OU1 is the first phase of the cleanup and addresses the portion of the Site known as the Plant Area. The cleanup remedy includes continued operation of the containment system, demolition of existing structures, installation of a plastic cap, injection of treatment material into the contaminated soil, and restrictions on the use of property. Also, the EPA, Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), and the Spectron Potentially Responsible Parties (PRP Group) are conducting investigations and considering technical alternatives for next phase of the cleanup which encompasses the bedrock groundwater (OU2). The EPA will be reviewing the risk assessment tables for the OU-2 risk assessement and the Remedial Investigation Report for OU-2. Additionally, the EPA will be reviewing a Remedial Design Workplan for OU1 which includes demolition of structures, installation of a cap and Treatibility Study Report for bioremediation of the overburden ground water.

Site Description

The Spectron, Inc., ("Spectron") site is comprised of approximately 8 acres and is located just outside of Elkton, Maryland, in a rural residential area. In 1961, Galaxy Chemicals, Inc., began a solvent recovery operation that treated wastes generated by the electronics, pharmaceutical, paint, and chemical process industries. The site had previously been a paper mill. Galaxy Chemicals went bankrupt in 1975. The facility was re-opened as Solvent Distillers, Inc., with primarily the same ownership as Galaxy Chemicals. Solvent Distillers, Inc., which changed its name to Spectron, Inc., in 1978, closed the facility in 1988 and declared bankruptcy. Over the years, several lagoons were used at the site to store wastes. Nearby residents repeatedly complained about the odors emanating from the lagoons and from a sludge pit. The soil and groundwater are heavily contaminated with predominately chlorinated organic solvents. Little Elk Creek, which runs through the site and was contaminated (including pure product in the sediments) by site activities, is used for recreational fishing. The State designated the creek as a potential drinking water source and a stream targeted for protection and the maintenance of its aquatic life. Approximately 5,200 people obtain their drinking water from private wells within four miles of the site. The nearest private wells are within several hundred feet of the site.

Site Responsibility

Cleanup of this site is the responsibility of federal, state, and local governments, and parties potentially responsible for site contamination.

NPL Listing History

This site was proposed to the National Priorities List of the most serious uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites requiring long term remedial action on October 14, 1992. The site was formally added to the list May 31, 1994, making it eligible for Federal cleanup funds.

Threats and Contaminants

Leachate seeps previously discharging into Little Elk Creek contained elevated levels of chlorinated solvents. The seeps are now being captured and treated in a ground water containment, collection, and treatment system. Similar contaminants have historically been detected in the creek downstream from the site. The groundwater containment system, installed as part of the current cleanup effort, caused a significant reduction in these levels. On-site monitoring wells also are contaminated with chlorinated solvents. Potential risks exist if contaminated groundwater is used as a drinking water source. The risks associated with coming into direct contact with contamination seeping from the river bank at the chemical plant location have been eliminated by the installation of the groundwater containment system.

Cleanup Progress

Threat Mitigated by Physical Clean-up Work

When Spectron went bankrupt and ceased operations, approximately 500,000 gallons of flammable liquids were left at the site. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) disposed of these wastes and negotiated an Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) with potentially responsible parties (PRPs) to clean out flammable sludges from the tanks. Another AOC was signed in 1991 requiring over one hundred PRPs (the site has approximately 1,000 PRPs) to control seeps of contaminated groundwater along the west bank of Little Elk Creek. In April 1998, after soliciting input from the community, EPA determined that the best way to control the contamination entering the creek was to install an impermeable liner in the portion of the creek adjacent to the chemical plant. A french drain system under the liner captures the contaminated groundwater that would normally enter the creek. The captured groundwater is being treated by an on-site groundwater treatment system to remove the contamination before the water is discharged to the creek. Construction of the liner started in August 1998 and was completed in April 1999. Native plants were planted along the restored stream banks and in the stream bed, during the late Spring and early Summer of 1999, to help restore natural habitat. An on-site water treatment plant was constructed and is operating 24 hours a day. The treatment plant processes groundwater captured by the french drain system. Most of the chemical plant has been dismantled by the site owner. Water treatment units have been installed by the PRPs on several nearby private wells that were slightly contaminated. Semi-annual monitoring of over 20 nearby residential wells is on-going. In 1996, 137 PRPs signed an order with EPA to perform an investigation, called an RI/FS (Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study) which is focusing on the deeper groundwater contamination and the soil contamination at the former chemical plant. EPA released a Proposed Plan for a clean-up method for the first phase of the RI/FS called Operable Unit 1 (OU-1). Public comments, received during the comment period, were considered before a final cleanup decision was made for OU-1. The formal clean-up decision, called a Record of Decision (ROD), was signed in late September 2004. Investigation of Operable Unit 2, which includes groundwater in the bedrock and a narrow strip of land across the creek from the Plant Area, is on-going. The EPA, MDE and Responsible Parties are discussing data gaps in the Remedial Investigation for OU-2 Bedrock Groundwater and possible remedial alternatives for the Bedrock Groundwater. The Responsible Party will be doing a comprehensive sampling of all monitoring wells on Site in August of 2007.

Contacts

Site Contacts

Administrative Record Locations