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NPL Site Narrative for Ordnance Works Disposal Areas
ORDNANCE WORKS DISPOSAL AREAS
Morgantown, West Virginia
Federal Register Notice: June 10, 1986Conditions at proposal (October 15, 1984): The Ordnance Works Disposal Areas cover approximately 110 acres on the western shore of the Monongahela River, southwest of Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia. Several previous and adjacent property owners operated chemical plants on the site since the 1940s, both for the Government war effort and for commercial use. From that time to the late 1970s, the site included a landfill for industrial waste disposal and an area with above-ground drums containing PCBs. Waste from the site may contaminate the Monongahela River, which supplies drinking water to 60,000 residents in the area.
The site is now owned by a group unrelated to previous disposal activities. To alleviate the immediate threat at a portion of the site, the present owner removed drums and contaminated soil containing PCBs and disposed of them at a regulated disposal site.
Status (June 10, 1986): Analysis of soil in several areas of the site detected chromium, lead, and various other heavy metals, as well as some organic chemicals. On April 10, 1985, EPA and the State started an enforcement-lead study to determine the effects of these substances on public health and the environment and identify any additional areas of contamination. The study includes a workplan outlining goals and methodology, a remedial investigation to determine the type and extent of on-site contamination and any contamination of the Monongahela River, and a feasibility study to identify alternatives for remedial action at the site.
The work is scheduled for completion in April 1987.
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.