Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Electro Platers of York Incorporated in Wrightsville, Pennsylvania
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Site Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Institutional/Engineer Controls
- Land Reuse
- Site Responsibility
Cleanup Status
On January 21, 2009, EPA performed a site visit at the facility located at 601 Water Street in Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. EPA databases list the address of the facility as 209 E. Willow Street. The address issue was discussed and the Borough representatives clarified that the site we were at (601 Water Street) is the operational facility. The 209 E. Willow St. may be a mailing address or something else. It is currently unknown. The meeting was held in the offices of the Borough which is a rehabbed building from the Electroplaters of York facility. The visit consisted of a sit down discussion and a walk around the facility to familiarize ourselves with the location visually. The Borough purchased the property in 2004 or 2006 (there was a discrepancy in the records).
An Environmental Indicator (EI) Inspection Report was completed in September 2010. It was determined that there was insufficient information available to determine if current human exposures and migration of groundwater are under control.
The Borough applied for and was selected to receive a Brownfields Grant in 2013. The grant is being used to perform an investigation to address the information needed to determine if human health and the environment are protected.
Site Description
Interactive map of Electro Platers of York Incorporated, Wrightsville, PA
Electro-Platers of York (EPY) was an electroplating facility that was contracted by various businesses who supplied EPY with prefinished metal components for custom electroplating. EPY conducted operations at the facility from 1968 until December 21, 2004. The facility experienced an industrial fire which destroyed EPY’s production facility and damaged the finished work warehouse connected to the north end of the production facility building. EPY became a dissolved entity in 2004.
The facility was comprised of 6 acres and 48,000 square feet of facility space during its operation. The original building was expanded in the early 1980s to accommodate increased production capacity. The site is located with the western side on Water Street and the southern side along the former extension of Willow Street at 209 East Willow Street, where the former Wrightsville Hardware Company existed. The site is bordered on the northeast by the Susquehanna River and on the north and west /southwest by residential properties. A baseball field is in the northern vicinity of the property and the Wrightsville sewage treatment plant is to the south. The Wrightsville sewage treatment plant was undergoing construction associated with expansion plans during the site visit in 2009.
The facility, formerly owned by EPY (historically located at 209 East Willow Street), is currently owned and occupied by the Wrightsville Water & Sewer Authority (the Authority). The office of the Authority is located at 601 Water Street, although the adjacent former EPY facility continues to be referred to as the 209 East Willow Street location.
Contaminants at this Facility
Electroplating operations included: plating with zinc, cadmium, chromium, nickel, brass and silver; pickling steel; and depositing electroless nickel. Wastewater treatment for destruction of cyanide, chromium reduction, chemical precipitation, flocculation, coagulation, and settling with sludge dewatering occurred on site. The facility used trichloroethene (TCE) for vapor degreasing.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
The need for Institutional Controls is yet to be determined.
Land Reuse Information at this Facility
The site is under continued use.
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 .