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Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Wolverine Advanced Materials in Blacksburg, Virginia

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An area of concern No. 1 (AOC-1) at the Facility is related with a Toluene Release Area that was formerly identified in the National Corrective Action Prioritization System, Site Assessment Report (NCAPs SAR) as Solid Waste Management Unit (SWMU-1P).

    Cleanup Status

    A site visit was conducted by EPA and Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) at the Eagle Picher Automotive-Wolverine Gasket Division facility on October 20, 2005, to discuss the Wolverine facility located at 201 Industrial Road in Blacksburg, Virginia. The purpose of the visit was to gather relevant information to assess current and past environmental impact of Eagle Picher Automotive-Wolverine Gasket Division operations. After an extensive review of existing information and the site visit, EPA determined that there is no unacceptable human exposure to contamination nor is there any evidence of groundwater contamination caused by the Facility.

    EPA published a notice in a local newspaper detailing the proposed Agency decision of no further corrective action. The thirty (30) day public comment period ended on September 28, 2009, and no comments were received during that time.

    On September 30, 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Final Determination of Corrective Action Complete without controls, no further corrective action is required at this time at the Eagle Picher Automotive-Wolverine Gasket Division, Blacksburg facility.

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      Site Description

      Interactive Map of Wolverine Advanced Materials, Blacksburg, VA

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      Eagle Picher Automotive-Wolverine Gasket Division, formerly known as Wolverine Gasket & Manufacturing Company, is located at 201 Industrial Road in Blacksburg, Virginia. The Wolverine facility property is approximately 15.1 acres in size and has an approximately 150,000 square manufacturing building, several small storage buildings, asphalt parking lots and roadways, and landscaped areas. The manufacturing building is divided into three segments designated Building A, B, and C. Building A was constructed in 1976, Building B in 1988, and Building C in 1980

      The Wolverine facility operates a coil coating plant and manufactures coated steel material in a coil coating process for sale or conversion by stamping processes into gaskets. Coiled steel and fiberglass basis material is coated with rubber coatings made at the facility from master batch rubber compounds and solvents. Raw solvents used in the manufacturing process primarily include toluene, di-isobutyl ketone, isobutanol, and methyl ethyl ketone. The raw solvents are stored in four large aboveground storage tanks (ASTs) and 55-gallon drums. Basis material is unwound and washed, than coated with primer and rubber coatings. After coating, the coated basis material is dried/cured in ovens. Coated material is sold as is or is slit and stamped to client specifications. Facility operations include two coating lines, a rubber make-down process, and slitting and stamping operations. Building A houses a mix room and a coating line, Building B houses a coating line and material storage, and Building C houses the press floor.

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      Contaminants at this Facility

      Primary concern are raw solvents used in the manufacturing process primarily include toluene, di-isobutyl ketone, isobutanol, and methyl ethyl ketone. The raw solvents are stored in four large aboveground storage tanks (ASTs) and 55-gallon drums.

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      Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility

      Institutional Controls were not required at the facility.

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      Land Reuse Information at this Facility

      The facility is under continued use.

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      Site Responsibility at this Facility

      Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action activities at this facility are being conducted under the direction of the EPA Region 3 with assistance from the Virginia DEQ.

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