EPA RCRA ID: PAD002335222
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.
Based on this inspection and several investigations and remedial actions to date, in February 2020 ,EPA determined that contamination in groundwater and human exposures risk from contaminants were under control.
Cleanup Background
Trichloroethene (TCE) impacts to the bedrock aquifer were first discovered in 1979. A groundwater pump-and-treat system began operating in 1982, has been expanded throughout the years, and continues to operate to treat contaminated groundwater and limit plume migration.
A two-phase vacuum extraction (TPVE) system was installed beneath the facility building in 2007 to remediate shallow groundwater and soil vapor beneath the degreaser tank pit and was expanded in 2018 to remediate shallow groundwater and soil vapor beneath and downgradient of the parking lot to the north of the facility.
In 2007 the facility submitted a notice of intent to remediate under the Act 2 Statewide Health Standard to PADEP. The facility entered EPA and PADEP’s One Cleanup Program in 2014.
A Site Characterization Report was submitted in January 2012 that summarized previous investigations, characterizations, and remedial actions at 11 Areas of Concern (AOCs). The report also included receptor and exposure analyses and a proposed cleanup plan for remaining contamination. As a result, the facility installed a shallow groundwater collection system in the parking lot area in 2012.
Additional groundwater monitoring wells, piezometers, and soil vapor points have been installed to delineate the extent of the contaminated groundwater plume and assess potential vapor intrusion into a nearby residence on the eastern corner of Township Line Road and Whitehall Road. In 2019, the facility refurbished the basement of this residence and installed a vapor mitigation system to ensure that potential vapor intrusion impacts to the residence from the plume of contaminated groundwater were eliminated.
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 facility is located at the intersection of Township Line Road and Whitehall Road in East Norristown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Properties to the north and east of the facility are commercial, while most of the properties to the west and south of the facility are residential. Stony Creek, a tributary of the Schuylkill River, runs approximately 500 feet to the northwest and 3,000 feet to the southeast of the facility. Stony Creek empties into the Schuylkill River about five miles downstream of the facility.
The facility began operations in 1948 and was acquired by Handy & Harman in 1958. During operations, the facility manufactured small-diameter stainless steel, nickel alloy, carbon, and low-alloy steel tubing for use in medical and pharmaceutical applications, instrumentation, aircraft and automotive hydraulic lines, and appliances. The operations that occurred during manufacturing were cold drawing, degreasing, annealing, and pickling of the steel tubing. The degreasing process involved trichloroethylene (TCE) solvent and the cold drawing process used chlorinated drawing compounds. The facility was considered a major facility as defined in 25 PA Code § 121.1, because the facility exceeded the emission limits for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and TCE. Facility operations were discontinued in 2006.
Contaminants at this Facility
Primary contaminants at the facility include TCE from past degreasing operations and its degradation products dichloroethanes and vinyl chloride.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
Anticipated institutional controls include restricting land use to non-residential uses only, prohibiting groundwater use beneath the facility, and restricting building construction without additional vapor intrusion investigation or approval from EPA.
Anticipated engineering controls include development of a plan to address any future intrusive activities within the contaminated groundwater plume that have the potential to contact groundwater, and continued operation and maintenance of the groundwater remediation systems and the groundwater monitoring well network.
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) |
Documents available on-line: |
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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.