EPA RCRA ID: PAD003043353
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.
In 1983 Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) issued a Consent Order and Agreement to Merck to investigate and remediate groundwater contamination caused by the releases of various organic compounds from the former east end tank farm. The groundwater is contaminated with various organic compounds such as chloroform, benzene, methylene chloride, tetrahydrofuran, chlorobenzene, and 1,2-dichloroethane. The investigation concluded that the groundwater contamination migrated offsite and impacted some nearby residential wells. As a result, Merck connected the impacted residences to municipal water and installed a groundwater pump and treat system to control the migration of the groundwater contamination.
In conjunction with the PADEP Order and under the EPA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Correction Action Permit, Merck completed a comprehensive site-wide RCRA Facility Investigation in 1994 to further evaluate and identify areas of concerns that may have been impacted by the Facility's operations. The investigation identified three principal areas of concerns. These areas included the former east end tank farm area, the solvent recovery area, and Zone 5 of the old landfill. Subsequently and in 1998, Merck submitted the Corrective Measures Study that proposed a Final Remedy to address these areas. Merck completed the Final Remedy in 2008. The Facility will continue to monitor groundwater and maintain the remediation system.
As a matter of efficiency and practicality, in 2007, EPA issued a Corrective Action Permit Modification that combined the requirements of the PADEP Order and the original EPA Corrective Action Permit under one regulatory mechanism. As a result, the PADEP Consent Order was terminated.
In January 2008, Merck transferred ownership of the site and the RCRA HSWA Permit PAD003043353 to Cherokee Pharmaceuticals, LLC (Cherokee). Merck & Co., Inc. submitted a revised Part A Submission and the RCRA Part B Operating Permit PAD003043353 with the PADEP to reflect the change. The change in ownership does not require modifications to the existing hazardous waste activities or new hazardous waste activities. Cherokee is responsible for maintaining the corrective action implementation.
On January 21, 2009 , EPA determined corrective actions for the facility were complete with controls. Institutional Controls are for groundwater (maintaining pump and treatment system and monitoring) , protecting caps over former landfills, and limiting site use to non-residential use.
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 consists of 175 acres and is located along the south bank of the North Branch of the Susquehanna River in Riverside, Northumberland County, PA. From 1942 to 1945, Heyden Chemical Company leased the site from the US Government to produce hexane for munitions during World War II. The site was unused from the end of World War II until 1950. From 1950 to 2008, Merck occupied the site. In 2008, Merck transferred ownership of the site and the RCRA HSWA Permit PAD003043353 to Cherokee. Currently, Cherokee produces various human-health and animal-health products that include antibiotics.
Contaminants at this Facility
The main contaminants in the groundwater are 1,1-dichloroethane, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, cis-1,2-dichloroethene, Trichloroethene, and Tetrachloroethene.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
Institutional Controls are for groundwater (maintaining pump & treatment system and monitoring) , protecting caps over former landfills, and limiting site use to non-residential use.
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.