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Salford Quarry
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site location and surroundings
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EPA ID: PAD980693204
Location:
Quarry Rd
Lower Salford Twp, PA 19438
Montgomery County
Lower Salford Twp, PA 19438
Montgomery County
Congressional District: 13th
Other Names: American Olean Tile, National Gypsum
Last Updated: February 2012
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Contacts
Remedial Project Manager
Sharon Fang
215-814-3018
fang.sharon@epa.gov
Community Involvement Coordinator
Vance Evans
800-553-2509
215-814-5526
evans.vance@epa.gov
Governmental Liaison
Jennie Saxe
215-814-5806
saxe.jennie@epa.gov
Region 3 NPL Coordinator
Lorie Baker
215-814-3355
baker.lorie@epa.gov
Region 3 NPL Public Docket Coordinator
Dawn Shellenberger
215-814-5364
shellenberger.dawn@epa.gov
Bulletin Board
- This site was added to the National Priorities List of most contaminated hazardous waste sites in September 2009.
Questions
The EPA is dedicated to providing you with timely and accurate information about our work at this site. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact:
Vance Evans 215-814-5526
On This Page
Related Links
Site Status
- In May 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received $1.25 million from the National Gypsum bankruptcy trust to fund the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) to determine the extent of the contamination in the ground water and to determine whether further remediation is necessary beyond the initial cleanup performed by Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) and EPA.
- In February 2007, the RI Report was completed.
- In 1997, the site was re-proposed to the National Priorities List and was listed as final on September 23, 2009. The next step is to complete the FS Report and issue a Proposed Plan for public comment.
Background
- The Salford Quarry site is an early 1900’s-era shale quarry located on approximately three acres in Lower Salford Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
- Approximately 54,000 people draw drinking water from public and private wells within three miles of the site.
- In the 1950s, the Ludwig and Son waste disposal business used the quarry as a dumping point for industrial, commercial, and residential waste. Fly ash cinders from a coal-fired power plant were also disposed at the site.
- The site was acquired by the American Encaustic Tiling Company [later known as American Olean Tile Company, Incorporated (AOT) in April 1963.
- As early as 1963 to 1980, AOT used the unlined quarry for the disposal of glaze wash-up sludge, settling pond sediment, and fired and unfired scrap tiles from its Lansdale, Pennsylvania plant
- In 1982, the site was closed with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources approval after AOT discovered two 10,000-gallon tanks containing boron and fuel oil buried on the site.
- In 1990, the EPA added the site to the National Priorities List of most hazardous waste sites in the country, making the site eligible for federal cleanup. A June 1992 decision by the United States Court of Appeals removed the Salford Quarry site from the NPL. It was added again in 2009.
Cleanup History
NPL Listing History
| Status: Final | Added: 1990 |
| Deleted: | Removed: 1992 |
| Readded: 2009 |
- In 1981, AOT discovered two 10,000-gallon tanks containing boron and fuel oil buried on the site.
- In 1982, after the company pumped out the remaining oil, the site was closed. The closure plan involved installing a soil cover and sampling the monitoring wells on site.
- In 1992, after boron contamination was discovered to have reached homes as far away as one-half mile from the site, EPA’s emergency personnel became involved with a waterline installation.
- During the period when EPA was constructing this waterline, bottled water was supplied to affected residents by the Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs).
- This waterline extension extended beyond immediately affected residents to homes where boron contamination may eventually reach, enabling all immediate threats to human health to be eliminated while EPA evaluated whether additional studies of cleanup activities were necessary.
- As a result of this action by EPA, 113 homes were connected to public water.
- Under an agreement with EPA, the PRP conducted a study of groundwater contamination to evaluate the extent of the contamination and identify the best cleanup strategy.
- This study was nearly complete when a combination of the PRP's bankruptcy, the site's removal from the NPL and the discovery of home well contamination terminated further investigation.
- In May 2002, the EPA began its own Remedial Investigation to investigate the contamination associated with the site.
- Field sampling was conducted in 2002 and 2004 to assess the current extent of contamination.
- In February 2007, a final Remedial Investigation Report was completed.
- EPA is currently working on the development of a Feasibility Study which will evaluate cleanup options for the Site.
- A Proposed Plan will be issued for public comment prior to the issuance of a Record of Decision (ROD), which selects the cleanup.
Contaminants and Risks
- On and off-site groundwater has been contaminated with volatile organic compounds (such as trichloroethylene or TCE, 1-2-dichloroethene and vinyl chloride, which are chemical components of solvents and degreasers), inorganic metals (such as lead), and a large amount of boron, most likely originating from the production of floor tiles.
- Boron contamination has migrated in a southwesterly direction.
- Although immediate human health risks have been eliminated with the waterline installation, animals and the environment may still be at risk through ingestion or direct contact with contaminated ground water that seeps into surface water.
- Contaminant descriptions and risk factors are available from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, an arm of the CDC.
Documents and Reports
- To search an on-line database of all documents and reports on the Salford Quarry site, go to EPA’s Administrative Record Database.
- All documents and reports can also be reviewed in person at these locations:
Indian Valley Public Library
100 East Church Ave.
Telford, PA 18969
215-723-9109
http://www.ivpl.org
U.S. EPA Region III
1650 Arch Street-6th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 814-3157
Call for an appointment.
- Some of the site’s key documents of interest are accessible below.
ATSDR's Public Health Assessment
Salford Quarry's NPL Public Docket (EPA-HQ-SFUND-1997-0009)
NPL Site Listing Narrative
- Submit a FOIA Request
Get instructions on how to submit a FOIA request. $Fee$ for requests over 100 pages.
Photos, Maps and Diagrams
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| View of quarry looking east. | Stream west of Quarry Road. | View of quarry looking northwest. |
(Click on a thumbnail to enlarge the photo)
Community Information
- Site Progress Profile — a quick reference sheet, linking to EPA's Headquarters.
- Federal Register
4/1/1997: National Priorities List, Proposed Rule No. 22 (62 FR 15594)
9/23/2009: National Priorities List, Final Rule No. 47 (74 FR 48412)
- Press Releases
9/23/2009: Salford Quarry Site Added to Superfund List
9/23/2009: EPA Adds 11 Hazardous Waste Sites to Superfund's National Priorities List / EPA Also Proposes to Add 10 Additional Sites
Reuse Information
- This site currently does not meet the criteria for Site-wide Ready for Anticipated Use.
- Want more information about how to reuse a Superfund site?