Blosenski Landfill operated as an unlined landfill from the 1950s through the 1980s in West Caln Township, Pennsylvania. It accepted municipal and industrial waste, including solvents, paints, and leaking drums. Those materials contaminated soil, groundwater, and surface water. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in September 1983, and cleanup work has been underway in phases ever since.
More than 60 chemicals have been identified as contaminants of concern. These include volatile organic compounds such as trichloroethene, benzene, vinyl chloride, and tetrachloroethene, as well as heavy metals including lead, cadmium, chromium, arsenic, and manganese. Industrial chemicals like 1,4-dioxane and pentachlorophenol are also present. Contamination is found primarily in groundwater, with some surface water and sediment concerns in a tributary of Indian Spring located 500 feet north of the property.
Cleanup has moved through four operable units targeting different problems. In 1990, a public water line was extended to 75 residents to replace contaminated well water. About 1,300 buried drums were excavated in 1992 and 1995. A landfill cap was completed in 1995 to stop rainwater from reaching landfill materials, and a groundwater pump-and-treat system was finished in 1998. In September 2022, EPA issued a Record of Decision Amendment shifting from pump-and-treat to Enhanced In-Situ Bioremediation, after monitoring showed volatile organic compound levels had dropped below federal limits in most wells. A 2016 vapor intrusion investigation found no levels posing a health concern. The site reached sitewide ready-for-anticipated-reuse status in September 2017.
Institutional controls remain in place. These prohibit residential use and groundwater use, restrict disturbance of the landfill cap, and require vapor barriers in any new construction. The 2023 Five-Year Review confirmed the remedy continues to protect human health and the environment. EPA notes that human exposure is under control, groundwater migration is stabilized, and there is no unacceptable discharge to surface water. The next five-year review is scheduled for 2028.
Community members can engage with EPA through the 2023 Community Involvement Plan, which outlines how EPA will keep residents informed and involved. Public comments on the 2021 Proposed Remedial Action Plan were considered, and EPA's responses appear in the Responsiveness Summary section of the 2022 Record of Decision Amendment. Site documents are available at the Coatesville Area Public Library or at EPA Region 3 in Philadelphia, with appointments required.
