Mid-Atlantic Superfund

EPA Region 3 (Mid-Atlantic)

Pennsylvania
Chester County
Exton, PA

EPA ID# PAD004351003

6th Congressional District

Last Update: March 2009

Other Names

Exton Area Sites

Current Site Status

EPA completed a Five Year review of the Site in March 2006 to insure that the Site is still protective of human health. Two issues, the possibility of vapor intrusion and 1,4 dioxane were identified for further evaluation at the Site. This evaluation will be conducted in the coming year. EPA, through its contractors, will maintain the operating treatment system and collect samples to monitor clean-up progress for a total of 10 years. After 10 years, if the treatment system is still needed, operation and maintenance of the system will become the responsibility of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Site Description

Fifteen acres of the 16-acre A.I.W. Frank/Mid-County Mustang Site were used from 1962 to 1981 to produce Styrofoam cups and plates. In 1981, Continental Refrigerator Corporation acquired the property and manufactured refrigerators, freezers, and warming cabinets for the institutional food service industry. One acre of the site was leased by Mid-County Mustang from 1982 until 1984. The space leased by Mid-County Mustang had been used since the 1940s for auto repair facilities and body shops. Historically, solvents used for cleaning engines were dumped into floor drains in the building and from there into an on-site stone drain field. Various contaminants were detected in the floor drains, drain field, and soils. Wells on both the Mid-County Mustang property and A.I.W. Frank property were found to be contaminated primarily with trichloroethylene (TCE), a chemical component of solvents and degreasers. More than 900 people live within one mile of the site. Valley Creek, located within one half mile of the site, is used for recreational activities. The area surrounding the site, which was originally farmland, is undergoing rapid development to become a residential, commercial, and light industrial area.

Site Responsibility

Cleanup of this site is the responsibility of Federal and State governments, the site owner and parties potentially responsible for the site contamination.

NPL Listing History

Our country's most serious, uncontrolled, or abandoned hazardous waste sites can be cleaned using federal money. To be eligible for federal cleanup money a site must be proposed to the National Priorities List (NPL). This site was proposed to the NPL on June 24, 1988 and formally added to the list on October 4, 1989.

Threats and Contaminants

On-site monitoring wells are contaminated with TCE and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Contamination has also been detected in nearby residential wells. Surface water within three miles downstream is used for recreational activities and may be threatened by runoff flow from the site into Valley Creek. There are no direct threats from contact with the site's surface soils. The site is currently unfenced. People could be exposed to chemicals by drinking contaminated groundwater.

Contaminant descriptions and associated risk factors are available at: (ATSDR web site).

Cleanup Progress

In 1985, the owners of the Mid-County Mustang property cemented the flow drains in the building and excavated the contaminated soil in the on-site drain field. The soil was then shipped off site for proper disposal. In August 1991, a fire of unknown origin destroyed one of the on-site buildings while EPA was studying the site. EPA demolished the damaged building to remove the potential for physical hazards shortly after the fire. EPA completed its study and feasibility report for the site in June, 1995. Three types of contamination were identified: 1) groundwater contamination with TCE and other VOCs; 2) soil contamination with VOCs; and 3) abandoned debris in drums, drainage ditches, sumps and underground tanks. EPA selected a final cleanup option for the site in the September 1995 Record of Decision (ROD). The cleanup plan includes construction of a municipal water line, extraction and treatment of contaminated groundwater, and removal and disposal of contaminated soil and debris.

EPA reached an agreement with a potentially responsible party to pay $1.1 million in EPA’s past costs and conduct work to address soil contamination, abandoned debris in drums, drainage ditches, sumps and underground tanks. These actions began in October 1998, and were completed in March 1999.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency connected individual residential homes to a recently installed public waterline in the late summer of 2000. In January 2000, extraction wells for the groundwater pump and treat system were drilled. Physical construction of the building, extraction wells and all the piping associated with the groundwater extraction and treatment system was completed in September 2000. On November 1, 2000, the system started treating contaminated groundwater 24 hours per day seven days per week. With the completion of the waterline connections and the construction of the treatment system all on-site construction is finished. EPA, through its contractors, will maintain the operating treatment system for the next 10 years. After 10 years, if the treatment system is still needed, operation and maintenance of the system will become the responsibility of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Contacts

Site Contacts

Administrative Record Locations