United Chrome Products, Inc.

Overview

United Chrome Products, Inc. is a former chrome-plating facility in Corvallis, Oregon, that operated from 1956 to 1985. The site covers between 1.5 and 2.5 acres, sits next to Corvallis Municipal Airport, and has been on the EPA's National Priorities List (NPL) since 1984. Electroplating wastes discharged into a dry well, combined with leaks from indoor plating tanks, sent chromium into subsurface soils, groundwater, surface water, and sediments.

Chromium is the only contaminant of concern. EPA determined it poses an unacceptable risk to human health and the environment based on the amount present and the potential health effects from exposure. Contamination has been found in groundwater, soil, debris, and residuals on the site.

Cleanup started with an emergency removal action in July 1985. Workers installed a perimeter fence and removed about 6,300 gallons of spent plating solution along with 114 drums and containers. The long-term remedy, chosen in 1986, included building demolition, groundwater extraction and treatment, soil excavation and off-site disposal, and institutional controls. Groundwater was extracted and treated starting in 1988, and extracted water was later routed to the City of Corvallis wastewater treatment facility. Groundwater extraction stopped in December 2004. In 2000, the City completed an additional soil removal action, sending chromium-contaminated soil to a permitted hazardous waste landfill. A 2010 Explanation of Significant Differences shifted the groundwater strategy to rely on institutional controls. Soils have been cleaned to levels safe for industrial use, with deed restrictions and a groundwater exclusion zone in place.

EPA has determined that human exposure is under control, but groundwater migration is not yet stabilized. The site has not been deleted from the NPL. The most recent Five-Year Review was completed in April 2022. The next review is estimated for April to June 2027. The site currently hosts a truck parking and propane distribution facility operated by CoEnergy, and a 100-kilowatt solar array was built on the western part of the property in 2017. The City of Corvallis continues to pump and monitor groundwater on an ongoing basis.

Community members can review site documents at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library at 645 NW Monroe Avenue, Corvallis, Oregon, phone (541) 766-6793. For questions about the site or the most recent Five-Year Review, contact the EPA Remedial Project Manager. For community involvement questions, contact the Community Involvement Coordinator.