EPA RCRA ID: VAD010063006

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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 Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) is the lead agency for managing  cleanups at this facility.

The Facility throughout its history has treated, stored, and/or disposed of materials that had been categorized as hazardous wastes, including cupola emission dust, baghouse dust, and carbide slag. The Facility also included four landfills, three of which were permitted (SWP355, SWP361, and SWP407) and held a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit (VA0000213) for wastewater discharged into the New River and that was allowed to expire in 2016. 

Radford Foundry obtained permits for hazardous waste activities in the 1980s and subsequently submitted closure plans in 1989 for the closure of waste piles at the site and termination of all operations and activities associated with hazardous wastes. During the closure process, reported sampling data collected around hazardous waste areas showed lead concentrations above EPA’s acceptable lead level for soil. The EPA determined that the presence and/or release of hazardous waste may present a hazard to human health or environment and therefore issued a corrective action Administrative Order on Consent (Consent Order) in January 2002. The Consent Order directed the Facility to perform interim measures if needed, to perform a RCRA Facility Investigation (RFI) and Corrective Measures Study (CMS), to provide a SB for public review, and to implement corrective measures following selection of corrective measures and issuance of the Final Decision and Response to Comments (FDRTC). These items were completed in subsequent years.

The landfills permitted under SWP361 and SWP407 were closed in 1988 and therefore were not subject to post-closure care obligations under the current solid waste regulatory program. In 2001, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) discovered that the facility had placed baghouse dust, which was determined to be hazardous waste, in the landfill permitted under SWP355 (referred to as SWMU No. 63 within EPA’s Hazardous Waste Cleanup Program [Cleanup Program], formerly known as the Corrective Action Program). DEQ and the EPA subsequently agreed to address the closure and corrective action of SWMU No. 63 under the primary oversight of the EPA with concurrent review and concurrence by the DEQ’s regional Solid Waste program. Because of INTERMET Corp entering bankruptcy in 2008, DEQ secured financial assurance monies established under SWP355 for closure and post-closure care activities and oversaw this work. DEQ approved the closure certification on August 26, 2015.

The Facility was enrolled in DEQ’s Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP) (VRP01062) on May 8, 2023 as part of an effort to redevelop the property after multiple owners and bankruptcies. Cleanup Program requirements were met through the mechanism of the VRP through a 2019 EPA Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that allows for Cleanup Program obligations to be addressed through the VRP while meeting Cleanup Program objectives. SWP355 post-closure care was terminated, and the permit was revoked, on April 24, 2025 as remaining solid waste permit actions were assumed under the VRP and Cleanup Programs. The final remedy under the Cleanup Program was land use restrictions. A Statement of Basis was released for public notice July 26, 2025 in the local newspaper Cardinal News and on the DEQ website. No comments were submitted during the public notice, and the Final Decision and Response to Comments was issued on August 26, 2025. A Uniform Environmental Covenants Act (UECA) covenant was recorded with the Radford Circuit Court on January 23, 2026 and that included the land use restrictions listed in the final remedy. A VRP certificate was also issued October 28, 2025 and recorded with the Radford Circuit Court on December 5, 2025. 

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  

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Facility Description

Link to a larger, interactive view of the map.

The Facility property consists of approximately 81 acres and is surrounded by the New River along the northern and western boundaries, an industrial site along the southern border, and commercial and residential properties along the eastern border. An inactive railroad track runs adjacent to the eastern boundary of the Facility. The site is currently vacant, and all foundry buildings have been demolished.

The Facility was once part of a larger 137.5-acre property that included two foundries – INTERMET Radford Foundry (VAD010063006, 1605 West Main Street) and New River Castings (now known as Radford Trading, VAD981730930, 1701 West Main Street) – that were owned by subsidiaries of Intermet Corporation. Foundry activity began as early as 1896 and included activities such as producing large castings, cast iron pipes, and automotive parts. INTERMET Radford Foundry in particular used the mold-casting production method to produce automotive parts and components of heavy construction equipment and practice bombs and rockets for the military. The mold-casting process involved melting scrap metal, coke, limestone, and various additives within a cupola at approximately 2800 °F, pouring into molds constructed of sand and binding resins, and grinding and finishing activities to produce the desired products. The two foundries at one time shared a variety of facilities, including onsite waste treatment facilities.

As a result of Intermet Corporation undergoing multiple bankruptcies, the entire property was purchased by Virginia Casting Industries, Inc. (VCI) in April 2010, and the former New River Castings Site was divested and is no longer part of INTERMET Radford Foundry. VCI Radford, LLC was later dissolved as an LLC. The City of Radford acquired the property from VCI on July 26, 2023 and then transferred it to the Radford Economic Development Authority (EDA) to better market the site for redevelopment. 

Contaminants at this Facility

Impacts to both soil and sediments resulting from historic uses of the property were identified in the Phase I and Phase II environmental assessments. Semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) and metals were detected in soil at levels exceeding EPA Region III Regional Industrial Soil Standards. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), SVOCs and metals are present in sediment below the wastewater settling ponds at significant concentrations.

Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility

The following institutional controls have been implemented through a UECA covenant recorded on January 23, 2026:

• The Facility property shall not be used for residential purposes unless it is demonstrated to DEQ that residential use will not pose a threat to human health or the environment and DEQ provides prior written approval for such use.
• Groundwater beneath the Facility shall not be used for potable purposes unless and until it is demonstrated to DEQ that its use will not pose a threat to human health or the environment and DEQ provides prior written approval of such use.
• To ensure that potential exposures to hazardous constituents in soil and groundwater encountered during construction or other intrusive activities are minimized, the owner of the Property shall comply with, and ensure that its contractors comply with, a Materials Management Plan. Such documents, when developed, shall be provided to the Department for inclusion in the Administrative Record.
• Any future use of the landfill area shall not disturb the integrity of the final cover, liners, or any other components of the containment systems unless necessary to comply with the Virginia Solid Waste Management Regulations, approved by the Department of Environmental Quality, or as necessary to perform work to maintain the integrity of the cap.

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?

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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.

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