Sherwood Medical Co.

Overview

Sherwood Medical Co. is a 60-acre facility in Norfolk, Nebraska that has made medical syringes and equipment since 1961. Workers used chlorinated solvents in production, and those chemicals seeped into the soil and groundwater. The EPA placed the site on the National Priorities List in October 1992. The facility is now operated by Cardinal Health.

The main contaminants are volatile organic compounds, specifically chlorinated solvents including tetrachloroethene (PCE), trichloroethene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, 1,1-dichloroethane, 1,1-dichloroethene, and 1,2-dichloroethane. These chemicals turned up in both soil and groundwater. When VOCs were detected in well water at the nearby Park Mobile Home Court in 1987, residents received bottled water first and then an activated carbon treatment system to protect their drinking water.

Cleanup was split into three parts. The soils work ran from July 1998 through September 2000 and included excavation, soil vapor extraction, and other treatment methods. A horizontal vapor extraction system installed in 2014 pulled out roughly 755 pounds of VOCs before being shut down in 2017. The groundwater extraction and treatment system ran from 1999 to 2017, removing 1,192 pounds of VOC mass total. Construction across the full site wrapped up in September 1999, and the site reached ready-for-reuse status in June 2006. Deed restrictions and environmental covenants now prohibit groundwater use from the affected aquifer and require nearby properties to stay connected to the municipal water supply.

The EPA completed its fifth Five-Year Review in August 2023. That review found the current remedy protects human health and the environment. Quarterly groundwater monitoring shows the contamination plume is stable and not spreading off-site, with concentrations trending downward. Routine groundwater sampling is planned to continue in 2025. The next Five-Year Review is estimated between August and October 2028. The site has not yet been deleted from the National Priorities List. Five on-site businesses currently employ 213 people and generate about $863.9 million in annual sales, showing the property supports active economic use.

Community members with questions can contact the EPA Community Involvement Coordinator or the Remedial Project Manager. For state-related questions, contact the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy.