Mid-Atlantic Superfund

EPA Region 3 (Mid-Atlantic)

Pennsylvania
Chester County
East Whiteland Township

EPA ID# PAD077087989

7th Congressional District

Last Update: November 2009

Other Names

None

Current Site Status

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency selected a remedy for this site detailed in a Record of Decision issued March 30, 2006. The remedy includes excavation and off-site removal of radiation-contaminated soils; stabilization of process tailings located in one of the two on-site quarries; and consolidation of other site wastes, debris and contaminated soils into the quarries followed by capping of the quarries at surrounding grade. On April 7, 2008, in response to the discovery of excess volumes of contaminated soils at the site, EPA issued an Explanation of Significant Differences to modify and expand some of the requirements of the remedy. EPA negotiated a Consent Decree with the current site owners to authorize them to implement the remedy. The United States Department of Justice lodged the Consent Decree and it was executed by a federal judge in July 2008. The physical construction of the remedy began even before the Consent Decree, and as of November 2009 was approximately 85% complete. Work is continuing with completion expected in 2010.

Site Description

The Foote Mineral Co. site is located on a 79-acre property primarily in East Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania. Starting in 1941, the Foote Company built and operated a variety of process buildings on the property for the manufacture of lithium metal and lithium chemicals, and inorganic fluxes for the metal industry. Ores and minerals were also crushed and sized as part of site operations. When the plant closed in 1991, the site included two quarries, a pit used to burn solvents, a lined basin and more than 50 buildings and process areas. There were also three unlined lagoons that had been leveled and backfilled, and an area where a small amount of neutralized lithium arsenite was buried and later removed. The site is bordered by public roads, mixed commercial and agricultural properties, a former railroad right of way, and an electric utility substation. Public and private wells within four miles of the site had supplied drinking water to approximately 42,300 people. The nearest of the private wells was only 800 feet away, and in the path of underground water that flows through the site. That well and other private residential wells found to be impacted by contamination are no longer used for drinking water. A public water supply well approximately a mile downgradient has since been shut down due to contamination.

Site Responsibility

Cleanup of this site is the responsibility of federal and state governments, and parties potentially responsible for site contamination (PRPs).

NPL Listing History

Our country's most serious uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites can be cleaned using federal money. To be eligible for federal cleanup money, a site must be put on the National Priorities List (NPL). This site was proposed to the NPL on February 7, 1992 and formally added to the list on October 14, 1992.

Threats and Contaminants

The primary contaminants of concern at this site are lithium, boron and chromium which, can also be found at low levels in nature. Bromate, an inorganic compound that is not normally found in water, is also a contaminant of concern at this site. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), the chemical components of solvents, and other organics have been found at Foote, but have not traveled off of the property.

One of the quarries contains an estimated 256,000 cubic yards of waste materials from the plant operations. On-site monitoring wells are contaminated with VOCs and the heavy metals: lithium, chromium, arsenic, and antimony. Lithium, boron and chromium were also detected in off-site public and private wells. In November of 2001, a newly regulated contaminant, bromate, was detected in groundwater downgradient of the former Foote property; additional sampling showed it to be present in some nearby residential wells and in water on the property. People who ingest or come into direct contact with significant levels of contamination may risk harmful health effects. In field surveys conducted since September 2003, radiation has been detected at levels that are higher than the natural background for this site. The radiation was limited to the soils in some small discrete areas of the property.

Contaminant descriptions and risk factors are available from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, an arm of the CDC.

Cleanup Progress

In June 1990, Cyprus Foote Mineral Co., Inc. signed a legal agreement with EPA to evaluate the contamination in groundwater and ensure that the local residents were using safe water. This work included a groundwater survey of the area, provision of an alternate source of water for affected residents and five years of groundwater monitoring to ensure the continued safety of residential drinking water supplies. In 1992, Foote removed two underground storage tanks from the site. That same year, Foote excavated 15,000 cubic yards of soil that was possibly contaminated by leakage from an underground petroleum storage tank. This excavated soil was treated using bioremediation, a technique whereby living microorganisms break down the contaminants.

In September 1996, Cyprus Foote Mineral Co. signed another agreement with EPA. This time, Foote agreed to fully characterize the contamination problem and risks posed by the site, then develop workable options for cleaning it up. In 1998, the company arranged to have the remaining on-site buildings demolished and removed, in order to take away the community nuisance hazard. Also in 1998, during the ongoing investigations, the Foote property was sold to Frazer-Exton Development, L.L.C. which agreed to complete the work started by Cyprus Foote Mineral Company. Foote and Frazer Exton Development completed the basic site studies and reports by the end of 2001, however because of new developments, additional investigations and supplemental reports were determined to be necessary.

In November 2001, a previously unsuspected contaminant, bromate, was detected in the groundwater downgradient of the former Foote property. Sampling conducted in 2002 also revealed that some previously uncontaminated wells had become contaminated, likely due to shifting groundwater patterns caused by the severe multi-year drought conditions existing at that time. Bottled water was provided and connections to public water were installed for the nearby impacted residents. Bottled water was also supplied to additional residents identified in later investigations. EPA proposed a preferred cleanup approach for the site in a Proposed Plan issued August 1, 2003. However that Plan was retracted due to the discovery of low level radioactive contamination in some onsite soils. Additional investigation to determine the level and extent of that contamination has been conducted. An Explanation of Significant Differences (a document that revises the requirements of the selected remedy) was issued on April 7, 2008 and was released for public review and comment in 2005.

In a Record of Decision issued March 30, 2006, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency incorporated the findings from the radiation surveys and additional bromate studies and selected a remedy for this site. The remedy includes excavation and off-site removal of radiation-contaminated soils; stabilization of process tailings located in one of the two on-site quarries; and consolidation of other site wastes, debris and contaminated soils into the quarries followed by capping of the quarries at surrounding grade. On April 7, 2008, in response to the discovery of excess volumes of contaminated soils at the site, EPA issued an Explanation of Significant Differences to modify and expand some of the requirements of the remedy. EPA negotiated a Consent Decree with the current site owners to authorize them to implement the remedy. The United States Department of Justice lodged the Consent Decree and it was executed by a federal judge in July 2008. The physical construction of the remedy began even before the Consent Decree, and as of November 2009 was approximately 85% complete. Work is continuing with completion expected in 2010.

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