From 1970 to 1981, Hydro-Flex, Inc. made specialized tubing, hoses, heat exchangers, and fittings on a three-acre property in Topeka, Kansas. During that time, the company discharged rinse water and sludge from a chromate metal finishing bath through a septic tank into buried silos and an on-site industrial well. That disposal practice left chromium and copper in both soil and groundwater at the site. EPA placed the site on the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) in 1989 after an initial assessment in 1983.
EPA and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) investigated the site through a remedial investigation and feasibility study that ran from September 1989 to January 1992. The selected remedy, documented in a Record of Decision issued March 9, 1992, was no action, because the agencies determined the site did not pose a threat to human health or the environment. Construction was completed in June 1992, and EPA deleted the site from the NPL in November 1993.
Two five-year reviews checked on long-term conditions. The first, in 1998, found the site protective of human health and the environment. The second and final review, completed in 2003, included site inspections and groundwater sampling and reached the same conclusion. That review also confirmed that hazardous substances no longer remain at levels that would prevent unlimited use and unrestricted exposure. The site achieved sitewide ready for anticipated reuse status in June 2006, meaning all cleanup goals for current and reasonably anticipated future land uses have been met.
Institutional controls are in place to limit any remaining exposure risk. Zoning restrictions prevent residential and other uses that would not be consistent with the cleanup level achieved. Human exposure is considered under control, and the site is not classified as a groundwater site.
Community members with questions can contact EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or the Remedial Project Manager. EPA and KDHE have stated that no further updates are anticipated for this site page, and the administrative record from November 1991 contains 66 remedial documents available for public review.
