Hazardous Waste Cleanup: E.I. DuPont DeNemours Experimental Station in Wilmington, Delaware
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Site Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Institutional/Engineer Controls
- Land Reuse
- Site Responsibility
EPA does not anticipate that any further action will be required for this facility. This facility is approximately 90 years old and is located along the banks of the Brandywine Creek, approximately four miles northwest of the city of Wilmington, Delaware.
Cleanup Status
In September 1993, EPA issued a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) administrative order directing the company to implement the remedy that was selected by EPA's Regional Administrator for this site in September 1991 (No Further Action with Monitoring). EPA and the facility worked jointly to complete the requirements of the order, which included:
- Conduct a five-year groundwater monitoring program including sampling, analysis of samples, and measurement of groundwater elevations in fourteen monitoring wells at the site on a quarterly and semi-annual basis.
- Prepare and submit reports describing this groundwater sampling work for EPA's review.
- Impose deed restrictions on the DuPont facility property to prevent the placement of wells that could be used for domestic purposes, and any use of the property that may permit dermal contact with subsurface soils and groundwater. DuPont is also required to notify EPA in advance and restrict access during any excavation work that may be completed in the site area.
The facility completed the five-year groundwater monitoring program that was required as the selected remedy for this site in 1999, and submitted a summary report to EPA. The groundwater data generated during this program consistently indicated that the concentrations of the hazardous constituents of concern in groundwater were significantly below the remediation standards or goals established by EPA for the site, and that concentrations significantly decreased over the duration of the monitoring program. EPA issued its approval of the 5-Year Assessment Report to DuPont on August 30, 2000, and notified the facility that they had successfully completed the RCRA Corrective Action process for the site.
Site Description
The Experimental Station is the corporate-wide central research and development facility for DuPont, and has been actively used as a research facility for approximately 90 years. Prior to this, the area along the Brandywine Creek was used for gunpowder manufacturing by DuPont. The site consists of mostly administrative office buildings, laboratories, and parking areas. DuPont also operates a hazardous waste incinerator that is equipped with air pollution control devices, and several hazardous waste storage pads that are permitted by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC).
The DuPont Experimental Station Site is located on Route 141 in Wilmington, Delaware, and its southern border is immediately adjacent to the Brandywine Creek. The site is approximately four miles northwest of the City of Wilmington
Contaminants at this Facility
The main contaminants in the soil and groundwater are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and volatile organics such as vinyl chloride and trichloroethene (TCE).
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
On January 9, 1995, DuPont filed a Declaration of Covenants with the New Castle County Recorder of Deeds covering 6.08 acres of the Experimental Station Site that were subject to RCRA Corrective Action work. This Declaration of Covenants restricts the use of this portion of the Experimental Station site by preventing the placement of wells that could be used for domestic purposes, and any use of the property that may permit dermal contact with subsurface soils and groundwater. DuPont is also required to notify EPA in advance and restrict access during any excavation work that may be completed in the six acre area of the Experimental Station site.
Land Reuse Information at this Facility
The facility is under continued use.
Site Responsiblity at this Facility
RCRA Corrective Action activities are being conducted under the direction of the EPA Region 3 with assistance from Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.