EPA RCRA ID: PAD000799916
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.
Conrail has completed the environmental cleanup at this Facility in Meadville, Pennsylvania. In July, 1993, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) determined the Facility to be clean-closed. The following paragraphs describe the releases that occurred at the Conrail Paint Shop as well as the corrective measures taken to remediate the releases.
During an inspection by PADEP on August 21, 1985, it was discovered that Conrail employees were disposing xylene thinner (used to clean paint spray guns) onto the soil surface outside the southern end of the Paint Shop building. It was estimated that approximately 364 gallons of xylene and an unknown amount of paint waste had been released to the environment in this area.
In response to potential xylene contamination in the soil and groundwater in the vicinity of the Paint Shop, Conrail retained OHM Remediation Services Corporation to perform closure activities at the site. A Phase I Investigation was performed in 1987, which included nine soil borings and the installation of four monitoring wells. Results of this investigation revealed only localized accumulations of solid waste paint in the soil, and no significantly elevated concentrations of inorganic or organic hazardous materials in either the soils or the underlying groundwater at the Facility.
A Phase II Investigation was done in 1990, which included further investigation of contamination in the shallow and deep soils, and the installation of eight additional monitoring wells. Results of this investigation found only two soil samples indicating the presence of total volatile organic compounds. All soil samples were found to be below acceptable levels for both lead and chromium. No site related compounds were detected in any of the groundwater samples.
Based on the results of these two investigations, approximately 170 cubic yards of soil was excavated from five different locations at the Facility. Confirmatory soil sampling was performed in these areas, and four monitoring wells installed and sampled to confirm the absence of contamination in the groundwater.
After reviewing the available data, PADEP declared the Conrail Paint Shop to be "clean-closed" in a letter to the Facility dated June 30, 1993. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agrees with this determination, and believes that no further corrective action is necessary at the Conrail Paint Shop at this time.
EPA released a "Statement of Basis" for the Conrail Paint Shop on May 31, 2000. The public was invited to comment on the proposal that no further action be required at the Conrail Paint Shop during a public comment period which lasted forty-five calendar days from the date this matter was publicly noticed in the local newspaper ("Meadville Tribune" from May 31 to July 15, 2000). On July 15, 2000, EPA completed the public comment period, during which time EPA did not receive any comments on its proposal that no further corrective action is necessary at this time. Therefore EPA has adopted the proposed decision as the final decision.
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 former Conrail Paint Shop building and surrounding property is located at 10677 McHenry Street in Meadville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania.
The former Conrail Car Repair facility was used for the reconditioning of railroad cars and was divided into several primary sections including the main repair and assembly shop, the sandblasting and undercoating shop, and the paint shop. The area addressed under this EPA identification number is for the third section, the Conrail Paint Shop area (Facility), which includes the former paint shop building and the surrounding property (approximately 2.466 acres total) and does not include the other areas of the former Conrail Car Repair Shop. Erie Railroad operated the entire rail car repair facility at this location from 1957 until 1977, when Conrail bought the property from Erie. Conrail then operated the facility until it's closure on December 31, 1989. Today, the former paint shop and surrounding property is owned and maintained solely as a warehouse by Corrugated Specialties Incorporated.
Former operations associated with the refinishing of reconditioned freight cars in the paint shop area produced hazardous wastes including mineral spirits, which were used as the primary cleaning and paint thinning solvents at the Facility and also: xylene, waste paint, and paint sludges.
Contaminants at this Facility
The hazardous wastes at the facility included mineral spirits, which were used as the primary cleaning, and paint thinning solvents including xylene, waste paint, and paint sludge .
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
Institutional Controls were not required at the site.
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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Control(s) Type |
Control(s) in Place? |
Areas Subject to Control(s) |
Documents available on-line: |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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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.