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NPL Site Narrative for Dover Gas Light Co.
DOVER GAS LIGHT CO.
Dover, Delaware
Federal Register Notice: October 4, 1989Conditions at proposal (January 22, 1987): Dover Gas Light Co. operated a coal gasification plant on a 0.9-acre site in Dover, Kent County, Delaware from 1859 to 1948. The plant processed coal to produce a gas that was piped to street lamps in Dover. When the plant closed, the structures, except for a brick garage, were demolished. Steel and iron scrap were removed; all other materials, including coal oil, coal tar, coke, and an unknown acid, are believed to have been buried on the site.
In 1984, during geotechnical studies of the property prior to construction of the new Kent County Family Courthouse, remains of this coal gasification plant were discovered buried on-site. The buried materials include coal tar residues containing hazardous substances.
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DDNREC) installed and sampled 16 monitoring wells to determine the nature and extent of contamination. The results show that hazardous substances buried on-site have been released to ground water. These substances include benzene, toluene, xylene, lead, trans-1,2-dichloroethylene, and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon compounds, among them naphthalene, fluoranthene, and pyrene.
DDNREC determined that these substances are in ground water at depths of up to 53 feet and a horizontal distance of at least 300 feet southeast of the site. The closest supply well, 1,000 feet southwest of the site, draws on the Cheswold Aquifer. It is part of Dover's municipal water system. An estimated 45,000 people are served by public and private wells within 3 miles of the site. Of Dover's 14 municipal supply wells, 7 are within 1 mile of the site.
Status (October 4, 1989): EPA plans to start conducting a remedial investigation/feasibility study to determine the type and extent of contamination at the site and identify alternatives for remedial action.
For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on the Internet at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaq.html or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.