Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Ametek Incorporated - U.S. Gauge Division in Sellersvillle, Pennsylvania

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    Cleanup Status

    On June 8, 2012, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Final Decision and Response to Comments (FDRTC) for the selected remedy at the Ametek U.S. Gauge Division facility (Facility). After careful review of all comments received during the public comment period regarding the proposed remedy in the Statement of Basis (SB), EPA has concluded that no modification to the proposed remedy is necessary. Therefore, the remedy proposed in the SB is now final and becomes the selected remedy.

    The selected remedy for the Ametek site consists of the following:

    •     Establishment of a Technical Impracticability (TI) Boundary for groundwater, which consists of the Plant #2 property boundary;
    •     Continued operation and maintenance of the Site’s groundwater pump and treat system;
    •     Long-term groundwater stability monitoring and reporting; and
    •     Long term land development restrictions, and groundwater-related use restrictions pursuant to the Pennsylvania Uniform Environmental Covenants Act.

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    Site Description

    Interactive map of Ametek Incorporated - U.S. Gauge Division, Sellersville, PA

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    The former Ametek, U.S. Gauge Division Plant #2 facility is located on Clymer Avenue, Sellersville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The property is approximately 45 acres that contain a main office and a manufacturing building, as well as several small buildings for storage of materials. From 1957- 2008, Ametek manufactured pressure indicating gauges and other instrumentation for the automotive, aircraft, process and public utility industries. The production process involves multiple steps of machining, forming, cleaning, and finishing of principal components prior to final assembly.

    Since 1974, several investigations were performed at the site to assess, remove and control subsurface (i.e., soil and groundwater contamination) impacts. In June 1990 EPA issued a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Administrative Order on Consent directing the facility to proceed with a site investigation and cleanup.

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    Contaminants at this Facility

    The primary concern at the site is groundwater migration of volatile organic contaminants (VOCs) that were used as solvents (e.g., trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethane) in the manufacturing process. This concern is being controlled with the installed groundwater extraction/treatment system. In addition to groundwater contaminants, elevated concentrations of VOCs in soil were also detected at specific locations within the boundaries of the facility. As part of the closures of the former dry and wet lagoons the contaminated soils were excavated and disposed offsite.

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    Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility

    The institutional controls will restrict the use of the Site to non-residential purposes and will prohibit the installation of public or domestic groundwater supply wells within the TI zone (Ametek Plant #2 Property Boundaries). The institutional controls will be implemented through  in the form of an environmental covenant pursuant to the Pennsylvania Uniform Environmental Covenants Act.

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    Land Reuse Information at this Facility

     The facility is in continued use.

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    Site Responsibility at this Facility

    RCRA Corrective Action activities at this facility have been conducted under the direction of EPA Region 3.

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