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Three Companies Help Clean Up Boarhead Farms Superfund Site

Release Date: 5/4/2000
Contact Information: Ruth Podems, (215) 814-5540

Ruth Podems, 215-814-5540

BRIDGETON TWP., Pa. - Three companies have agreed to continue the cleanup of hazardous waste at the Boarhead Farms Superfund site here, under a partial settlement filed this week in federal court in Philadelphia.

The three companies, Cytec Industries, Inc., Ford Motor Co. and SPS Technologies, Inc. are allegedly responsible for some of the contamination at the 120-acre site in Upper Black Eddy, Bridgeton Township, Pennsylvania. The EPA has already started the cleanup there, and the three companies will now take over a portion of it.

The Boarhead Farms Superfund Site on Lonely Cottage Road is the site of the now defunct DeRewal Chemical Co., a chemical and waste hauling company. The property is currently owned by Boarhead Corporation. Manfred DeRewal Sr. is the president of both companies.

In the 1970s, state and local officials responded to several chemical spills at the site, and discovered discarded and buried drums throughout the property. The soil, surface water and groundwater are contaminated with concentrated acids and caustics, paint solvents, pesticides, chloride, chromium, copper, nickel, zinc, copper ammonium sulfate, arsenic pentoxide, and copper naptholate.

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In 1976, the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas ordered Mr. DeRewal and both of his companies to remove all chemicals from the site. In 1989, EPA put the site on the National Priorities List for Superfund cleanups. Since 1992, EPA and its contractors have excavated and removed more than 2,600 drums of chemicals, constructed a groundwater treatment facility, and installed and operated residential well filtration systems.
According to information obtained by EPA, Ford, SPS and Cytec (formerly known as American Cynanamid Co.) contributed some of the hazardous substances found at Boarhead. The three companies are among several landowners, waste generators, or waste transporters that EPA has identified as being potentially responsible under the Superfund statute for cleaning up the Boarhead site.

Cytec, Ford and SPS have agreed to take certain clean-up measures at the site, including the pumping and treating of contaminated groundwater, treatment of residential water supplies, and installation of six additional monitoring wells. The settling parties have already started this work under an administrative consent order.

EPA is continuing additional other work at the site, including soil aeration, treatment of volatile organic compound hot spots, excavation and off-site disposal of buried drums, and other activities. EPA is continuing its investigation of other parties that may be liable under Superfund for cleanup costs.

The proposed settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.



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