The C & D Recycling site is a 45-acre former metal-reclamation plant in Foster Township, Pennsylvania. From the 1960s through the early 1980s, the plant burned lead and plastic-cased telephone cables to recover copper wire. That process left soil and sediment contaminated with antimony, copper, lead, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Antimony, copper, and lead were also found in residual materials on the property. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in July 1987. The NPL is the federal registry of the country's most contaminated sites.
Cleanup was organized into two operable units. A sitewide removal action ran from 1987 to 1990. EPA issued a Record of Decision selecting the main remedy in September 1992. That remedy called for excavation, offsite disposal of contaminated material, onsite solidification and stabilization, decontamination, offsite recycling, and residual treatment and disposal. From June 1998 through August 1999, contractors removed and disposed of roughly 90,000 tons of contaminated material off-site, then re-graded and seeded the land. Groundwater samples taken in 1999 and 2000 met drinking water standards. Additional sampling of Mill Hopper Pond and Mill Hopper Creek between 1999 and 2004 found a small area needing further work, which was finished in April 2005. EPA later reviewed stricter dioxin cleanup standards, finalized those new goals in February 2012, and confirmed through September 2015 sampling that no dioxin remained above the updated levels.
EPA issued a Final Close Out Report in October 2016 confirming all cleanup goals were met. The site was deleted from the NPL on February 26, 2018. Human exposure to contaminants in soil, sediment, surface water, and groundwater is under control. Groundwater migration is stabilized, physical construction is finished, and the site is ready for its anticipated future use. No hazardous substances remain above levels that allow unlimited use and unrestricted exposure, so no Five-Year Reviews are required.
A private party purchased the property and converted it to a wildlife preserve around 2006. The property owners voluntarily placed land use restrictions prohibiting residential or commercial development. Other properties that were part of the site remain undeveloped and could be developed under local zoning rules. Community members with questions can contact the EPA staff assigned to the site or the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
