EPA RCRA ID: PAD002335545
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Facility Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Institutional/Engineer Controls
- Enforcement and Compliance
- Related Information
- Contacts for this Facility
Cleanup Status
Note: The EPA is the lead agency for managing cleanups at this facility.
The final remedy for the facility is complete and consists of a combination of engineering and institutional controls, which are described in more detail below and in the Statement of Basis. The Final Decision to implement the final remedy for the facility became effective on October 2, 2017.
After entering Pennsylvania’s Act 2 program in September 2014, the facility submitted a Remedial Investigation and Cleanup Plan in April 2016, and a Final Report in August 2016, that outlined the bioremediation activities that had occurred to clean up groundwater beneath the facility, surface water modeling and sampling to demonstrate no impact to West Swamp Creek above Ambient Water Quality Criteria, and a vapor intrusion assessment of two occupied buildings near maximum groundwater contaminant concentrations that demonstrated no unacceptable vapor risk to workers. Additional quarterly groundwater sampling in 2017 demonstrated that concentrations of TCE degradation products in groundwater beneath the southeastern portion of the Main Plant Area are decreasing or statistically insignificant, suggesting that remaining groundwater contamination is stable or decreasing and will not migrate off-site.
Cleanup Actions or environmental indicators characterizing the entire facility are shown below. It is not intended as an extensive list of milestones/activities. This listing, and all the data on this page, come from EPA’s RCRAInfo and are refreshed nightly to this page. For this table and the Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility table that follows, 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 facility began operations in 1950. The facility manufactures tantalum (Ta) and niobium (Nb) metals through the processing of raw ore. The final products are metal powder, wire, or sheet products used in the electronics and medical fields.
Environmental investigations near the facility began in the late 1970s and continued into the early 1990s due to concerns of potential contamination (particularly fluoride) of vegetation and livestock of farms in the surrounding area. More detailed investigations of soil and groundwater at the facility occurred from 1999 to 2000 as part of EPA’s Removal Assessment, which concluded that soil analytical data did not indicate that soil affected by industrial contaminants rose to a level of concern for human health or the environment, and that groundwater was impacted by both specific natural conditions and the facility, but that groundwater at residential locations were not obviously affected by facility contaminants.
Natural attenuation and degradation processes continue to slowly reduce contaminant concentrations in groundwater beneath the facility. In 2008, a pilot-scale bioremediation study undertaken by the facility suggested that enhancement of these natural attenuation processes via bioremediation would speed up remediation of groundwater beneath the facility. Based on the success of the pilot study, further rounds of bioremediation injections into areas of contaminated groundwater beneath the southeastern portion of the Main Plant Area were conducted in 2010, 2012, and 2014.
Contaminants at this Facility
In addition to being impacted by the facility, groundwater in the area is impacted by natural conditions and agricultural activities. The main contaminants in the groundwater at the southern portion of the site are fluoride and TCE and its degradation products.
Residential locations are not affected by contaminants from the facility; the potential concern for human health in the residential wells is due to natural sources. The majority (about 70%) of residential drinking water wells exhibit an increased boron concentration. A number of these wells contain concentrations of other metals above levels of potential concern for human health due to natural sources.
Several Streams - Swamp Creek, Middle Creek and the tributaries in the area of the facility - were sampled by EPA in 1999-2000. An Aquatic Biology Investigation of Swamp Creek indicated good overall stream quality. Furthermore, groundwater beneath the facility was found to have no measurable impact on Swamp Creek surface water quality. Sediment sampling from Swamp Creek showed that the controlled discharge from the facility does not pose a threat to the aquatic environment.
Soil in the southern part of the facility is contaminated with niobium, tantalum, lead, selenium and zinc. A few soil samples registered elevated levels of uranium, manganese, aluminum, magnesium, cobalt, barium and copper. In the EPA Region III November 2000 Removal Assessment Report, EPA concluded that no soil cleanup is necessary to protect human health.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
The final remedy for the facility includes institutional controls to ensure that groundwater is not used for potable or domestic purposes at the facility and that facility property remains non-residential. A Post-Remediation Care Plan is also required to ensure the long-term integrity of physical barriers between impacted soil and groundwater beneath the southeastern portion of the Main Plant Area, as well as outline work procedures and personal protective equipment requirements for any intrusive operations conducted within this area.
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) |
Documents available on-line: |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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
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.