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Hazardous Waste Cleanup: DuPont Spruance Plant in Richmond, Virginia

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Cleanup Status

From 1987 thru 2010, remedial activities have occurred at the DuPont Spruance Plant (Facility) to address impacts to human health and the environment. The RCRA Facility Investigation/Corrective Measures Study report submitted by the Facility was approved by EPA in 2011. Based on the findings set forth in these reports, VDEQ has determined that past operations at the Facility have resulted in soil and groundwater contamination, and that further actions to remediate soil and groundwater are necessary to protect human health and the environment given current and reasonably anticipated future land use.

The Facility submitted a Class 2 Permit Modification request to modify its Hazardous Waste Management Permit for Corrective Action (Permit), which was approved on September 5, 2012. The Final Remedy for the Facility emphasizes source control through the improvement of the existing Groundwater Treatment System (GWTS), maintenance of the existing capping of soils with concentrations of contaminants above remedial goals, and continued long term groundwater and surface water monitoring to ensure clean up goals are met. Finally, institutional and engineering controls were implemented through the development of a Uniform Environmental Covenant Act (UECA) Covenant to prevent current and potential future exposure to contamination. The UECA Covenant was recorded with the City of Richmond, VA and Chesterfield County in September 2014.

A Corrective Measure Implementation (CMI) 30% Design Work Plan (WP) was approved on June 24, 2013; a CMI 90% Design WP was approved on September 18, 2014. A 100% Design WP was approved on March 31, 2015.  Construction of the new groundwater extraction and treatment system was completed in September 2018.

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    Site Description

    Interactive Map for DuPont Spruance Plant, Richmond, VA

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    The DuPont Spruance Facility is located in Chesterfield County, Virginia, along the southern border of the City of Richmond. The site property is approximately 525 acres. It is bordered on the west by Jefferson Davis Highway (U.S. Route 1) and on the east by the James River. The site is located just northwest of the I-95 and I-895 interchange.

    The site has been in continuous operation since 1929 as a manufacturing plant for textile fibers and sheet products. In the nearly 70 years of operation, DuPont has significantly expanded its operations and intends to continue operations at the Spruance Facility in the future. Manufacturing products have included Kevlar®, Nomex®, Nylon, Mylar®, Tyvek®, and Zytel®.

    There are no plans to use any portion of the property for non-industrial purposes. The properties immediately surrounding the Spruance Facility are entirely industrial and commercial in nature.

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    Contaminants at this Facility

    The voluntary investigations as well as the RFI determined that constituents were widely distributed in groundwater with only limited areas of impacted soil. DuPont Spruance has collected groundwater samples from approximately two hundred fifty (250) monitoring wells located on and adjacent to the facility. The groundwater constituents of potential concern (COPCs) identified are carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, hexamethylphosphoramide (HMPA), trichlorofluoromethane (TCFM), vinyl chloride, and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Groundwater is not used on the site for drinking water, and no downgradient users of off-site groundwater exist between the site boundary and the James River.

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      Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility

      Institutional Controls (ICs) and Engineering Controls (ECs) at the Facility were implemented in accordance with the Final Remedy Implementation requirements described in the Facility's Permit. ICs and ECs include (but but are not limited to) the prohibition of the use of the property for residential use, and the use of groundwater beneath the property except for non-contact cooling water. A UECA Covenant was recorded with the City of Richmond and Chesterfield County, VA in September 2014.

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      Land Reuse Information at this Facility

      The site is under continued use.

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      Site Responsibility at this Facility

      RCRA Corrective Action activities at this facility are being conducted under the direction of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality with assistance from the EPA Region 3.

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