Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation/Church Road TCE

Overview

The Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation/Church Road TCE site sits in Mountain Top, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. A pressure vessel manufacturing plant operated there from 1953 to 1984 and left behind trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination in soil and groundwater. The site was proposed to the National Priorities List (NPL) in April 2009. The NPL is EPA's list of contaminated sites that need formal cleanup attention. The site has not yet been finalized on the NPL.

EPA has identified 14 contaminants of concern across soil gas, soil, groundwater, and sediment. The main concern is TCE, a chlorinated solvent. Other chlorinated solvents found include tetrachloroethene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, 1,1-dichloroethane, and 1,1-dichloroethene. Cadmium, silver, and zinc appear in sediment. Naphthalene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and mixed xylene isomers were detected in soil gas.

A groundwater extraction and treatment system has run since October 1993 to pull TCE out and stop contamination from spreading further. In 2004, TCE showed up above safe levels in 14 residential wells along Church Road. Affected residents got bottled water and temporary filtration, then were connected to public water supply by 2007. An Interim Record of Decision (ROD), signed in September 2018, selected remedies for the groundwater operable unit. Those remedies include continued groundwater extraction and treatment, soil capping, excavation of a contamination hotspot, sediment removal from a former wastewater pond (completed in 2020), and vapor intrusion monitoring and mitigation. A soil vapor extraction pilot study in August 2019 proved ineffective, so focused soil excavation replaced it. Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation also installed mitigation systems at two locations where vapor intrusion was a concern. Human exposure is currently assessed as under control, and contaminated groundwater is stabilized in its original area.

Cleanup started in September 2020 and early remedial actions ran through early 2023. EPA completed a five-year review in October 2025. The site is now in remedial design and feasibility study phases. Final remedy selection is estimated between September and November 2026. Final remedial design is expected around June to August 2027, with final remedial action starting around June to August 2028. Physical construction is not yet complete, and the site is not yet ready for its anticipated future use. One business currently operates on-site as of December 2024.

Community members can review site records in person at the Marian Sutherland Kirby Library in Mountain Top or at the EPA Region 3 office in Philadelphia, with an appointment recommended for the EPA office. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Pennsylvania Department of Health, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) are also involved with the site.