Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Greene Tweed and Company Incorporated in North Wales, Pennsylvania
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Site Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Institutional/Engineer Controls
- Land Reuse
- Site Responsibility
Cleanup Status
EPA sets national goals to measure progress toward meeting the nation’s major environmental goals. For Corrective Action, EPA evaluates two key environmental indicators for each facility: (1) current human exposures under control and (2) migration of contaminated groundwater under control. On 9/30/2014, EPA determined that the Facility met the "Current Human Exposures under Control" environmental indicator. EPA determined that the Facility met the “Migration of Contaminated Groundwater under Control” environmental indicator on 9/22/2017.
Underground storage tanks (USTs) containing No. 6 fuel oil, toluene and possibly other solvents were found to be leaking at the Facility in 1986. Approximately 1,700 cubic yards of contaminated soils associated with the leaking USTs were initially stockpiled in five separate piles before being deposited into a specially constructed lined bioremediation containment cell adjacent at the Facility. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) approved of the cleanup within the bioremediation cell in November 1992 after Greene Tweed demonstrated the remaining soils met the PADEP-required total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) and toluene cleanup levels.
In order to demonstrate soils within the bioremediation cell are in compliance with EPA’s current residential risk levels for contaminants in addition to TPH and toluene, EPA collected additional soil samples from the cell in May 2018. All contaminants detected were found to be within EPA’s allowable risk range for residential direct contact. However, tetrachloroethylene (PCE), a chlorinated solvent, was found in 5 of the 7 samples within the bioremediation cell at concentrations above PADEP’s Statewide Health Standard (SHS) Soil Vapor Intrusion Screening Value of 0.43 mg/kg. This indicates that the vapor intrusion pathway may be of concern if an inhabitable building is constructed above the former bioremediation cell without appropriate vapor mitigation controls.
On August 9, 2023 EPA issued its Statement of Basis for the proposed cleanup remedy at the Facility in which the Agency proposed the implementation of institutional controls (ICs) to prohibit construction of any inhabitable structures directly above the bioremediation cell unless it can be demonstrated that such structures will not be adversely impacted above the Agency’s risk based indoor air concentrations via the vapor intrusion pathway. EPA is providing a thirty (30) day public comment period to solicit comments on the proposed remedy. The public comment period will end on September 8, 2023.
Site Description
The Greene Tweed and Company (Greene Tweed) facility began operations at its North Wales location in 1943 as a manufacturer of gasket, packing, and sealing devices. The 3.5 acre property contained two buildings during Greene Tweed's period of operations, which ended in 1987. A third building was constructed at the facility after Greene Tweed sold the property shortly after its operations were discontinued.
The only manufacturing process that generated hazardous waste at the facility was a coating tower operation. The coating process consisted of submerging a 40-inch wide belt of square woven cotton cloth into a rubber cement tank to completely coat the cloth. At the end of a production order, the rubber cement remaining in the tank was disposed. Additional waste was generated during cleanup of the coating equipment, using toluene and possibly other solvents.
The site currently houses a variety of small businesses including LIP Auto Collision, Shannon Enterprises and ATCherry LLC. Since Greene Tweed and Company left the Facility property in 1987, none of the subsequent businesses on the property has operated as a RCRA Treatment, Storage or Disposal (TSD) facility.
Contaminants at this Facility
Contaminants of concern are fuel oil , toluene, and tetrachloroethylene (PCE)
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
The proposed remedy in the Statement of Basis calls for the implementation of institutional controls (ICs) to prohibit construction of any inhabitable structures directly above the bioremediation cell unless it can be demonstrated that such structures will not be adversely impacted above the Agency’s risk based indoor air concentrations via the vapor intrusion pathway.
Land Reuse Information at this Facility
The site is being reused.
Site Responsibility at this Facility
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action activities at this facility have been conducted under the direction of EPA Region 3.