EPA RCRA ID: PAD000765800
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
From 2003 to 2005, and under the supervision of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), Allegro completed the investigation and remediation of the property in accordance with the PADEP Land Recycling and Environmental Remediation Standards Act (Act 2). The Pennsylvania Statewide Health Standards (SHS), which are equivalent to the EPA residential standards and deemed protective of public heath, were applied to the investigation and remediation.
The investigation evaluated six areas of concern (AOCs) at the Facility that potentially posed an environmental concern. The six AOCs comprised of four solid waste management units (SWMUs), one aboveground storage tank (AST) and one underground storage tank (UST). PADEP oversaw and certified the closures of the SWMUs, AST and UST in 2003.
In addition to the closure of the aforementioned units, a site characterization was conducted to determine the potential environmental impacts within, or immediately adjacent to the property that may resulted from past operations. The site characterization consisted of a site-wide groundwater monitoring and surface and subsurface soil samples for the constituents of concerns (COCs) that consisted of heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The investigation concluded that the soil results for the COCs were below the SHS and do not pose an unacceptable risk to human health. Furthermore and with the exception of the element barium, groundwater results for the COCs were also below the SHS.
Allegro never used barium or its related compounds in any of their industrial processes. However, barium was detected at varies levels throughout the property. Barium exceedances above the SHS of 2000 mg/L were detected in five of the twenty-four monitoring wells and twelve temporary well points. The exceedances range from 2,400 mg/L to 7,000 mg/L. The barium exceedances in groundwater are localized in the shallow aquifer and are confined within a one acre area located in the southeastern quadrant of the Facility. Groundwater flow in this area of the Facility discharges to the unnamed tributary. In utilizing a mass-balance water quality analysis model (PENTOXSD model) to evaluate diffuse groundwater discharge to surface water, PADEP determined that the barium levels in groundwater do not adversely impact the unnamed tributary. The investigation did not identify any potential sources for the barium in groundwater. Therefore, PADEP concluded that the barium detections in groundwater are naturally occurring in nature.
The former Facility has since been redeveloped into a shopping center that includes a Walmart Supercenter and several big box retailers. The property is zoned for non-residential use and will remain non-residential for the foreseeable future. A deed restriction on the property prohibits the use of onsite groundwater for any purposes and therefore, prevents direct human exposures to barium. Historic groundwater results confirm that the elevated barium levels in groundwater are stabilized within the one acre area. The barium levels in groundwater do not adversely impact the surrounding environment.
Based the above assessment, EPA has proposed no further corrective action or land use controls are necessary at this time at the Facility. EPA has determined that its proposed decision is protective of human health and the environment.
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 former Allegro facility occupied approximately 30 acres located in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. Much of the former property (approximately 60%) was open landscape and asphalt-paved areas that included parking lots and access roadways. Approximately 40% of the former property was used for manufacturing and product distribution. The operations structures consisted of a large single-story building, a pump house, the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and a small stone shed.
From 1990 to 2001, Allegro manufactured large-scale integrated circuits used in various applications such as automobile ABS systems, smoke detectors, computer memories, space and telecommunications hardware, oil exploration, and battery operated devices. The circuits were processed on the surfaces of polished silicon wafers. The wafers were mass-produced using photolithography techniques, high temperature heat treatments, and chemical etching.
In October 2001, Allegro discontinued operations and commenced decommissioning of the facility. In September 2002, Allegro sold the property to a commercial developer who redeveloped the former facility into its current usage as a shopping center that includes a Walmart Supercenter and several big box retailers.
While barium was detected at varies levels throughout the property PADEP concluded that the barium detections in groundwater are naturally occurring in nature. There were no other contaminants of concern.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
Institutional Controls were not required at the facility.
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.