Companies agree to funding cleanup of Superfund site

1/27/2012 | Real Estate Blog

On Wednesday, the current and former owners of a Montgomery County Superfund site agreed to pay $2.1 million in past cleanup costs to resolve action taken by the Environmental Protection Agency. The site reportedly hosted the manufacture of tires and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic resins. The companies also agreed to accept responsibility for future cleanup costs at the site, which is located in Lower Pottsgrove Township.

Environmental protection concerns have been a picture for the site for some time. Sources detail that, between 1942 and 1985, four owners of the site disposed of cutting oils, metal filings, tires, PVC sludge resins and other industrial wastes on the premises. Hazardous waste sites become Superfund sites when they are placed on the EPA’s National Priority List based on a scoring process which rates its current or potential to impact health.

The EPA classified the property as a Superfund site in 1989 after it found unsafe levels of trichloroethylene, vinyl chloride and various other hazardous substances in the soil and groundwater.

Occidential Chemical Corporation, known as OxyChem, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations and Glenn Springs Holdings Inc were all involved in the agreement. OxyChem is the current owner of the site and Glenn Springs apparently manages it.

In the intervening years, OxyChem has taken steps to remedy the situation, including constructing a groundwater treatment plant and excavating contaminated lagoon sludges. That took place in 2008. Sources didn’t indicate what further remedial action would be necessary for the site.

Source: philly.com, “Montco Suprefund site owners pay $2.1 million,” Sandy Bauers, January 25, 2012.