The Westinghouse Elevator Co. Plant covers 85 acres in Cumberland Township, Pennsylvania. The facility made elevators and escalators from 1968 to 2013. Workers used chlorinated solvents, including trichloroethene and 1,1,1-trichloroethane, as degreasing agents. Those chemicals contaminated groundwater, surface water, sediment, and soil. The EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in June 1986.
Three contaminants of concern have been identified at the site: 1,1,1-trichloroethane, 1,1-dichloroethene, and trichloroethene. They were found in groundwater, free-phase nonaqueous phase liquid, and soil gas. The EPA selected these chemicals for cleanup because they pose an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment.
Cleanup began in the mid-1980s when Westinghouse provided bottled water and carbon filtration to residents with affected wells and installed water mains connecting homes to the public water supply. The EPA issued a Record of Decision in June 1992 selecting groundwater extraction and treatment as the remedy. This system uses pumping, air stripping, and carbon adsorption to remove contaminants and control the spread of pollution. Construction of that system finished in September 1998. A separate decision in March 1995 found no cleanup action was needed for soils, and surface water and sediment also required no response action.
The groundwater treatment system continues to run today and will need to operate for many years to restore groundwater to drinking water standards. Residents with contaminated wells have been connected to the public water supply, eliminating exposure through drinking water. Human exposure across the entire site is under control, meaning no unacceptable exposure pathways currently exist. Groundwater contamination is stabilized in its original area with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. Two businesses are currently operating at the site, employing seven people and generating roughly $1,270,000 in annual sales. Institutional controls restrict groundwater use until cleanup goals are met and prohibit activities that could interfere with the treatment systems. The site has not yet been deleted from the National Priorities List.
The EPA completed its most recent Five-Year Review in June 2021 and concluded the remedy protects human health and the environment. A new five-year review is currently underway, with results expected by June 2026. Community members can share information or ask questions by contacting the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator. Site documents are available at the Adams County Public Library in Gettysburg or at the EPA Regional office in Philadelphia, where appointments are recommended.
