EPA RCRA ID: WVD005005087
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
The West Virginia Department of Environmental (DEQ) is the lead agency for managing cleanups at this facility.
EPA has reviewed the Corrective Action Stabilization Questionnaire and the Preliminary Review, prepared by WV Division of Environmental Protection (WVDEP), that identified over twenty-five Solid Waste Management Units (SWMUs) at the site. WVDEP and EPA combined resources to complete Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) closure of one of these SWMUs, the RCRA permitted container storage area. Under the WVDEP state order, the facility determined the extent of contamination at the unit and in impacted soils at that SWMU. In June 1999, the WVDEP released the facility from the financial responsibility requirements for closure of the RCRA storage area. In September 2003, the facility completed the environmental indicator determination that shows control of the human exposures to site contaminants. The remaining SWMUs require additional environmental investigation to determine the extent of control of exposures to contaminant releases to groundwater.
In May 2002, EPA and the facility entered into a final corrective action administrative order under RCRA to complete the environmental investigation of the entire facility. EPA and the State will pursue characterization of onsite contamination and remediation of the remaining SWMUs and remediation of any releases of contaminants as appropriate. Effective May 6, 2003, EPA approved the Description of Current Conditions Report contingent upon the facility presenting additional information as itemized in an EPA letter. The DCC report established an environmental baseline to begin investigation and remedial actions as necessary. EPA approved the Phase I RFI Work Plan in March 2005. FMC completed field work and submitted a Phase 1 RFI Data Report in October 2005. Based on the results of the Phase 1 investigation a Phase II work plan was developed by FMC and field work for Phase II was completed during the summer of 2006. A Phase II RFI Report was submitted to EPA in April 2007. EPA/WVDEP commented on the report and FMC has discussed the comments with the Agencies and provided a written response to the comments in September 2008. FMC also provided a Sediment Sampling and Analysis Plan to EPA in October 2008. Sediment samples and pour water samples were collected from the Kanawha River in the summer of 2009. The results of those sampling efforts were provided to EPA in a March 2010 RFI Addendum Report. That report has been approved by EPA. Great Lakes Chemical Corporation and FMC Corporation have recently submitted a Human Health Risk Assessment Approach report dated October 2012, to EPA. After a review and comment process the Risk Assessment was revised and approved by EPA in August 2015. FMC Corporation is presently preparing a streamlined Corrective Measures Study.
A corrective action final decision was issued on August 31, 2017 which restricts the Facility to non-residential use through compliance with and maintenance of institutional controls, restriction on groundwater use, continued monitoring of groundwater, natural attenuation, vapor mitigation requirements in specified areas, operation and maintenance plan for areas with an enhanced concrete cover, and a soil and groundwater management plan to restrict activities in known contaminated areas.
On February 2, 2022, the WVDEQ conducted a Long Term Stewardship assessment to assess whether the remedy was implemented and protective of human health and the environment. WVDEQ determined that the remedy institutional and engineering controls have been fully implemented and no control deficiencies were identified.
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 inactive Nitro, WV facility is over 60 years old and is located on the banks of the Kanawha River, within ten miles of Charleston, West Virginia. FMC manufactured various commercial phosphorous-based organic and inorganic chemical intermediates from its chemical processes. The RCRA regulated container storage area was permitted by the State of West Virginia in 1984 and taken out of service in 1994. As a part of the environmental investigation for full closure of the RCRA unit, metals were detected in the sump associated with the RCRA regulated storage area. In 1999, the facility received state closure of the RCRA solid waste management unit. The facility closed its operations in 2001. Prior to closing, the facility generated hazardous waste, but managed its waste offsite in less than 90 days at closure. No permit is required for this practice.
Contaminants at this Facility
The facility investigations have identified Benzene, Trichloroethene, vinyl chloride, 1,4-dioxane and bis(2-Chloroethyl) ether as contaminants of concern identified at the facility.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
Institutional Controls include:
- Groundwater will not be used for potable purposes. while monitoring indicates that groundwater contaminant concentrations remain above Minimum Contamination Levels (MCLs)
- No new wells will be installed on the Main Plant Area unless it is demonstrated to EPA that such wells arc necessary to implement the final remedy.
- The Main Plant or Lake House/Lab Area will not be used for any residential purposes
- Excavation or the area beneath the engineered concrete covers at AOCs 11. 12. 13 and 32 is prohibited
- A vapor mitigation system will be installed and maintained in any new structures constructed within 100-foot or wells MW-11S, MW-12S or MW- 16S.
- Compliance with the EPA-approved groundwater monitoring program while contaminant concentrations remain above drinking water standards.
- Compliance with the EPA-approved Soil and Ground water management Plan
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: |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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.