EPA RCRA ID: PAD075485995
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Facility Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Institutional/Engineer Controls
- Enforcement and Compliance
- Related Information
- Contacts for this Facility
Cleanup Status
Note: The EPA is the lead agency for managing cleanups at this facility.
Continued monitoring shows that contamination levels are low, remain on-site, and have never been detected in the local municipal drinking water wells at the North Wales Water Authority. Therefore, groundwater is not a risk to human health or the environment from this site. The most recent groundwater sampling activities EPA has data for were performed in September 2009. Analytical results for tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE) were below their respective Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) and continue to be below the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action Permit (CAP) action levels. A concentration of a target compound greater than ten times the MCL at a well within the facility is the action level in the Phase II remedy of the CAP.
Institutional control are established for this facility as a Corrective Action Permit. This type of institutional control is defined as an Enforcement Control which spells out the requirements of the facility to protect human health and the environment. Specifically, this permit uses a phased approach utilizing downgradient wells and maximum contaminant levels (MCL’s) as precursors to determine monitoring and/or pumping requirements.
Cleanup Background
In 1988, Rohm and Haas submitted a report summarizing soil sampling activities. Previously, there had been a spill near one of the buildings and, in 1986, contaminated soils were removed. The area was then capped with asphalt. This spill may be the source of the groundwater contamination. In 1990, Rohm and Haas began a voluntary groundwater pump and treat system.
In November of 1994, EPA modified the November 4, 1992, CAP to allow this Rohm and Haas facility to discontinue the pump and treat system while continuing to monitor the groundwater. Rohm and Haas turned off the pumps in September of 1996.
In November 2002, Rohm and Haas submitted a request to modify the RCRA CAP sampling requirements. These modifications were accepted by EPA Region III in March 2003. The modifications included substituting the traditional purge and bail sampling technique with diffusion bag sampling, eliminating five sampling wells, reducing sampling frequency of eight sampling wells, reducing the contaminants of concern to only tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE), eliminating wells which were not part of the CAP, replacing quarterly monitoring reports with quarterly memorandums and an annual report, and revising the conditions of the remedy for Phase II.
On November 10, 2006 Rohm and Haas submitted a request to modify the sampling requirements and eliminate wells from of the RCRA CAP. The reason for this request is because three current sampling wells are within the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation right-of-way for their Rt. 309 widening project. The request was determined by the EPA to meet the definition of a Class 1 modification and accordingly on November 24, 2006, an approval letter was sent. Three monitoring wells (SHL-AA, SHL-W, and SHL-X) were abandoned on December 29, 2006.
Cleanup Actions or environmental indicators characterizing the entire facility are shown below. It is not intended as an extensive list of milestones/activities. This listing, and all the data on this page, come from EPA’s RCRAInfo and are refreshed nightly to this page. For this table and the Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility table that follows, a blank in the Status column could mean the action either has not occurred or has not been reported in RCRAInfo.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to the Entire Facility
| Action | Status | Date of Action |
|---|---|---|
| Human Exposure Under Control Human Exposure Under Control(CA725) | ||
| Groundwater Migration Under ControlGroundwater Migration Under Control (CA750) | ||
| Remedy DecisionRemedy Decision (CA400) | ||
| Remedy ConstructionRemedy Construction (CA550) | ||
| Ready for Anticipated Use Ready for Anticipated Use (CA800) | ||
| Performance Standards AttainedPerformance Standards Attained (CA900) | ||
| Corrective Action Process TerminatedCorrective Action Process Terminated (CA999) |
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility
| Action | Area Name | Date of Action |
|---|
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Facility Description
Link to a larger, interactive view of the map.
The Rohm and Haas site in Spring House is the corporate headquarters for the Research Division. It is located on a 140 acre campus like setting just west of the intersection of Route 309 and Norristown Road in Spring House, Pennsylvania. The Spring House site utilizes 110 acres as a research facility where Rohm and Haas conducts small-scale chemical and physical research on products such as coatings, adhesives, leather, paper, textiles, monomers, and polymers. Wastes which are generated by these laboratories are stored in permitted storage areas and disposed of off-site.
Contaminants at this Facility
Contaminants of primary concern are tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE).
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
Institutional control are established for this facility as a Corrective Action Permit. This type of institutional control is defined as an Enforcement Control which spells out the requirements of the facility to protect human health and the environment. Specifically, this permit uses a phased approach utilizing downgradient wells and MCL’s as precursors to determine monitoring and/or pumping requirements.
Institutional and Engineering Controls help ensure human exposure and groundwater migration are under control at a cleanup facility. Where control types have been reported by states and EPA in EPA’s RCRAInfo, they are shown below. Not all control types are needed at all facilities, and some facilities do not require any controls. Where there are blanks, the control types may not be needed, may not be in place, or may not be reported in RCRAInfo.
Are Controls in Place at this Facility?
|
Control(s) Type |
Control(s) in Place? |
Areas Subject to Control(s) |
Documents available on-line: |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Institutional ControlsNon-engineering controls used to restrict land use or land access in order to protect people and the environment from exposure to hazardous substances remaining in the site/or facility. (CA 772) |
Informational DevicesInformational Devices (ID) |
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Governmental Controls (GC) |
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Enforcement and Permit Tools (EP) |
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| Proprietary ControlsProprietary Controls (PR) | ||||
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Engineering ControlsEngineering measures designed to minimize the potential for human exposure to contamination by either limiting direct contact with contaminated areas or controlling migration of contaminants. (CA 770) |
Groundwater ControlGroundwater Control (GW) |
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Non-Groundwater |
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For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Enforcement and Compliance at this Facility
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) provides detailed historical information about enforcement and compliance activities at each RCRA Corrective Action Site in their Enforcement and Compliance Historical Online (ECHO) system.
RCRA Enforcement and Compliance Reports from ECHO
Related Information
For more information about this facility, see these other EPA links:
- RCRA information in EPA’s Envirofacts database
- Information about this facility submitted to EPA under different environmental programs as reported in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Alternative Names for this facility as reported by EPA programs in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Cleanups in My Community provides an interactive map to see EPA cleanups in context with additional data, and lists for downloading data
- Search RCRA Corrective Action Sites provides a search feature for Corrective Action Sites
Documents, Photos and Graphics
Contacts for this Facility
EPA Region implements and enforces the RCRA Corrective Action program for and federally recognized tribes.
For further information on this corrective action site, use the Contact Information for Corrective Action Hazardous Waste Clean Ups listings that are accessible through Corrective Action Programs around the Nation.