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Site Owner in Emmaus, Pa. Agrees to Implement Superfund Cleanup Plan

Release Date: 12/6/2001
Contact Information: Bonnie Smith, (215) 814-5543

Bonnie Smith, (215) 814-5543

PHILADELPHIA – The owner of the property known as the Rodale Manufacturing Superfund Site has agreed to complete the cleanup of hazardous substances at the 1.8-acre site located at 6th and Minor Streets in Emmaus, Lehigh County, Pa.

Under a proposed consent decree filed this week in federal court in Philadelphia with the U.S. and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PaDEP), site owner Square D Company will carry out the cleanup plan approved by EPA and PaDEP in September 1999.

The cleanup plan includes a groundwater pump and treat system and groundwater monitoring. The estimated cost of the cleanup is $4.2 million.

Square D Company has also agreed to reimburse EPA and Pennsylvania for their past and future costs associated with this site. EPA’s past costs are $138,193, and Pennsylvania’s past costs are $53,853.

The proposed consent decree is subject to a public comment period and final court approval. Additional information about this site may be found at https://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/super/PA/rodale/index.htm.
In the 1930s, Rodale Manufacturing Company conducted an electrical component business at the property. Its manufacturing processes included electroplating, vapor degreasing, metal shaping and molding activities. Through the mid-1970's, Rodale Manufacturing used trichloroethylene in its vapor degreaser, disposing of degreaser solvents in on-site wells. In 1975, the property was purchased by Bell Electric, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Square D Company, which continued electrical component manufacturing activities.