Mid-Atlantic Superfund

EPA Region 3 (Mid-Atlantic)

Pennsylvania
Berks County
Hereford Township

EPA ID# PAD981740061

6th Congressional District

Last Update: August 2008

Other Names

Hereford Groundwater

Current Site Status

EPA has designated two operable units at the Crossley Farm Site. The first operable unit (OU-1) is for point-of-entry carbon treatment units on contaminated residential wells and the second operable unit (OU-2) is for the regional groundwater contamination at the Site.

Under the 1997 OU-1 Record of Decision (ROD), EPA has installed 53 point-of-entry carbon treatment units on residential wells. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) has responsibility for the long term operation and maintenance (O&M) of these treatment units. The area-wide residential well sampling program is conducted every two years to detect changes in concentrations and to determine if additional wells may require treatment.

The OU-2 regional groundwater investigation was completed in September 2001 and the ROD required treatment for a limited area of the most contaminated groundwater at the top of Blackhead Hill. A monitoring well and an extraction well system were constructed and samples were collected and analyzed, finding concentrations of trichloroethelyne (TCE) at extremely high levels. One well had a concentration over 700,000 micrograms per liter (ug/), which greatly exceeds the drinking water standard of 5 ug/l.

In July 2008 a ROD amendment to the OU2 ROD was issued which expanded the area to be addressed and now includes the groundwater plume as it flows down to the bottom of Black Head Hill. The Remedial Design for the OU2 ROD Ammendment will begin this fall.

Site Description

The Crossley Farm Site is in Hereford Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. The disposal area spans about 24 acres in a rural area atop Blackhead Hill. From the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, Bally Case and Cooler, a nearby company, reportedly sent many drums to Crossley Farm for disposal. These drums contained mostly liquid waste and were described as having a distinctive "solvent" odor. Until 1970, Bally Case and Cooler Co.used TCE as a de-greaser.

In 1983, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources (PADER) conducted an investigation that found contamination in residential wells downhill from the Site. These wells were polluted with various volatile organic compounds (VOCs). PADER issued a health advisory, warning residents not to drink from the contaminated wells, and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency provided temporary water supplies for the community.

In 1987, EPA began a regional study of groundwater. The study found a large area of TCE-contaminated groundwater extending two and one-half miles south of the farm, and the contamination source was located near the crest of Blackhead Hill.

At this time, 53 private wells have shown evidence of being affected by Site contamination. Public and private wells within four miles of the Site supply drinking water to an estimated 4,800 people. The closest private well is less than a mile from Crossley Farm.

Site Responsibility

Cleanup of this site is the responsibility of the Federal and State governments and parties potentially responsible for 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 put on the National Priorities List (NPL). This site was proposed to the National Priorities List on July 29, 1991. The site was formally added to the list October 14, 1992, making it eligible for federal cleanup funds.

Threats and Contaminants

TCE and other VOCs have been detected in on-site groundwater and residential wells down gradient of Crossley Farm. Consuming TCE-contaminated groundwater could pose a health risk. EPA;s mission is to help protect human health and the environment. EPA's work at the Site is helping to ensure safe drinking water for the community.

Contaminant descriptions and associated risk factors are available on the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry, an arm of the CDC, web site at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/hazdat.html

Cleanup Progress

In 1997, EPA signed the first Record of Decision (OU1 ROD) to install point-of-entry treatment systems in homes where contaminants were detected in their wells. EPA has installed 53 treatment systems at the Site. PADEP and EPA continue to monitor and sample more than 100 wells in the vicinity of the Site. These tests are done every two years.

In 1998, EPA uncovered 1200 drums buried in an old pit on the farm. The drums and contaminated soils were excavated and properly disposed at a permitted facility.

In 2001 a second OU2 ROD was issued that addresses contaminated groundwater at the source area on top of Blackhead Hill. In July 2008 a ROD amendment to the OU2 ROD was issued which expanded the area to be addressed and now includes the groundwater plume as it flows down to the bottom of Black Head Hill

The Remedial Design for the OU2 ROD Ammendment will begin this fall.

Contacts

Site Contacts

Administrative Record Locations