EPA RCRA ID: DED980551667
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) is the public law that creates the framework for the proper management of hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste. Corrective action is a requirement under RCRA that facilities that treat, store or dispose of hazardous wastes, or did so in the past, investigate and clean up hazardous releases into soil, groundwater, surface water and air. For more information, and for more information on RCRA-specific terms used on this page, please visit EPA’s umbrella RCRA web page or EPA’s RCRA Corrective Action page.
On this page:
- Cleanup Activities
- Facility Description
- Institutional/Engineering Controls
- Enforcement and Compliance
- Related Information and Publicly Available Electronic Records
- Contacts for this Facility
Cleanup Activities
The EPA is the lead agency for cleanups at this facility.
In 2007, engineered caps were installed over the white resinous material found in the soil in the Barren, capped Landfill and some adjacent low-lying areas. These caps were installed to eliminate exposure risks posed by elevated levels of hexavalent chromium, nickel and tetrachloroethylene in the soil/resin.
Groundwater contamination was identified beneath a former Carbon Disulfide manufacturing plant (eastern side) where PCE and trichloroethylene levels exceeded State and federal Drinking Water standards. Akzo submitted a Corrective Measures Study (CMS) to EPA that summarized alternatives proposed for remediating contaminated soil and groundwater at the Facility. In February 2012, Akzo submitted an In-situ Chemical Oxidation Treatability Study Work Plan to EPA (later revised in November 2012) which proposed testing whether chemical oxidation would effectively break down PCE/TCE in the GW plume. Akzo began implementing the treatability study in July 2013 through January 2014. The findings of the Treatability investigation were submitted to EPA in March 2015.
On June 8, 2017, EPA issued a Statement of Basis (SB) for the Facility which described the information gathered during the environmental investigations on- and off-site of the Facility and presented a proposed Final Remedy for the Facility. EPA's Final Remedy for the Akzo Study Area and the off-site groundwater plume consists of:
1. Establishment a Technical Impracticability (TI) Zone on the Akzo Study Area encompassing the groundwater plume consisting of metals. Long-term monitoring of groundwater will confirm plume stability and any contaminant trends.
2. Monitored natural attenuation of the chlorinated volatile organic compound groundwater plume that includes a small area of he Akzo Study Area and an off-site area.
3. Institutional controls for implementation of land and groundwater use restrictions. Because contaminants remain in the Landfill and Barren Areas and in GW at levels above what EPA considers acceptable for residential use, EPA's Final Remedy requires land use restrictions to restrict activities that may result in human exposure to those contaminants. EPA proposes that such restrictions be implemented and maintained through institutional controls.
.Cleanup Actions or environmental indicators characterizing the entire facility are shown below. This listing, and all the data on this page, come from EPA’s RCRAInfo and are refreshed nightly to this page. For this table, a blank in the Status column could mean the action either has not occurred or has not been reported in RCRAInfo.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to the Entire Facility
| Action | Status | Date of Action |
|---|---|---|
| Human Exposure Under Control Human Exposure Under Control(CA725) | ||
| Groundwater Migration Under ControlGroundwater Migration Under Control (CA750) | ||
| Remedy DecisionRemedy Decision (CA400) | ||
| Remedy ConstructionRemedy Construction (CA550) | ||
| Ready for Anticipated Use Ready for Anticipated Use (CA800) | ||
| Performance Standards AttainedPerformance Standards Attained (CA900) | ||
| Corrective Action Process TerminatedCorrective Action Process Terminated (CA999) |
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility
| Action | Area Name | Date of Action |
|---|
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Facility Description
Link to a larger, interactive view of the map.
The Akzo Nobel Chemicals, Inc. (Akzo) Facility is located in Delaware City, New Castle County, Delaware. The property is bordered on the west by Route 13, on the north by the Conrail Railroad tracks, on the east by Schoolhouse Road, and on the south by Formosa Plastics and Bilcare Research, Inc., and Route 72 (Wrangle Hill Road).
Akzo was constructed and began production in 1960 under original ownership of the Stauffer Chemical Company (Stauffer). Akzo acquired the property from Stauffer on or about December 21, 1987, and continued to operate it until 1992, when the Facility was dismantled and closed under the supervision of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
The Facility consisted of: (1) a decommissioned Carbon Disulfide manufacturing plant situated on a 52-acre area which included closed-loop process units, a wastewater treatment system, storage and loading areas, underground storage (gasoline) tanks and an unknown substance, two land disposal areas, a Barren Area and Capped Landfill, and two small wetland areas; (2) a 123-acre Agricultural Parcel; and a (3) 16-acre undeveloped parcel. The plant generated carbon disulfide and sodium hydrosulfide. Sodium hydrosulfide and waste oil were the only documented hazardous waste constituents stored in the drum storage area. Off-specification sulfur and ceramic brick debris were disposed of in the Barren Area and the Capped Landfill.
The contaminants that are present in GW are elevated levels of chromium hexavalent, nickel, and tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene. Elevated levels of PCE and TCE in GW were detected beneath the eastern side of the Carbon Disulfide (CS2) manufacturing plant.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
Institutional Controls include:
1. The Akzo Study Area shall not be used for any purposes other than industrial or commercial use unless demonstrated to EPA that such use will not pose a hazard to human health or the environment and EPA provides prior written approval .
2. All earth moving activities at the Facility (excluding the Agricultural Parcel), including excavation, drilling and construction will be conducted in ways that will not adversely affect or interfere with the Final Remedy, including the Capped Landfill and Barren Area engineered caps and will not adversely affect human health and the environment.
3. Compliance with an approved Cap Management Plan for the Landfill and Barren Area Caps. The CMP will be submitted for EPA review, approval and, at a minimum, must include the following: the procedures used to maintain the Caps over the contaminated soil; an inspection schedule to ensure Cap maintenance, at least annually.
4. Compliance with an EPA approved groundwater monitoring plan.
5. Compliance with DNREC' s Delaware City Industrial Area Groundwater Management Zone requirements.
6. Compliance with an EPA approved vapor intrusion (VI) Assessment Plan for any occupied structures within 100 feet of the VOC plume or planned to be constructed on or within 100 feet of the VOC plume, for on- and off-Site areas of impact.
Institutional and Engineering Controls help ensure human exposure and groundwater migration are under control at a cleanup facility. Where control types have been reported by states and EPA in EPA’s RCRAInfo, they are shown below. Not all control types are needed at all facilities, and some facilities do not require any controls. Where there are blanks, the control types may not be needed, may not be in place, or may not be reported in RCRAInfo.
Are Controls in Place at this Facility?
|
Control(s) Type |
Control(s) in Place? |
Areas Subject to Control(s) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Institutional ControlsNon-engineering controls used to restrict land use or land access in order to protect people and the environment from exposure to hazardous substances remaining in the site/or facility. (CA 772) |
Informational DevicesInformational Devices (ID) |
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Governmental Controls (GC) |
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Enforcement and Permit Tools (EP) |
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| Proprietary ControlsProprietary Controls (PR) | |||
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Engineering ControlsEngineering measures designed to minimize the potential for human exposure to contamination by either limiting direct contact with contaminated areas or controlling migration of contaminants. (CA 770) |
Groundwater ControlGroundwater Control (GW) |
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Non-Groundwater |
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For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Enforcement and Compliance at this Facility
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) provides detailed historical information about enforcement and compliance activities at each RCRA Corrective Action Site in their Enforcement and Compliance Historical Online (ECHO) system.
RCRA Enforcement and Compliance Reports from ECHO
Related Information and Publicly Available Electronic Records
For more information about this facility, see these other EPA links:
- RCRA information in EPA’s Envirofacts database
- Information about this facility submitted to EPA under different environmental programs as reported in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Alternative Names for this facility as reported by EPA programs in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Cleanups in My Community provides an interactive map to see EPA cleanups in context with additional data, and lists for downloading data
- Search RCRA Corrective Action Sites provides a search feature for Corrective Action Sites
Documents, Photos and Graphics
Contacts for this Facility
EPA Region implements and enforces the RCRA Corrective Action program for and federally recognized tribes.
For further information on this corrective action site, use the Contact Information for Corrective Action Hazardous Waste Clean Ups listings that are accessible through Corrective Action Programs around the Nation.