Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Captive Hazardous Waste Operation (Formerly: Koppers Company, Beazer Company) in Monroeville, Pennsylvania
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Site Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Institutional/Engineer Controls
- Land Reuse
- Site Responsibility
Cleanup Status
EPA Region III conducted an Environmental Indicator inspection of this facility on June 10, 2002. Based on this inspection, EPA’s preliminary finding is that the environmental indicators are met at this facility. Koppers (Beazer) agreed to take groundwater samples to confirm this finding. In June 2003, EPA determined that the Human Health Exposures Under Control and the Migration of Contaminated Groundwater Environmental Indicators had been met.
Site Description
Interactive Map of Captive Hazardous Waste Operation (Formerly: Koppers Company), Monroeville, Pennsylvania
View larger map
The original facility was built on approximately 255 acres of undeveloped farm land in 1957 by Koppers Company, Inc., and was used as a research and development laboratory at this location from 1959 until 1988. The research and development work at this time centered around coal and coke, adhesives, protective coatings, pesticides, building materials, plastics, and synthetic organic and inorganic chemistry. Wastes generated from these laboratory testings included: spent solvents, arsenic compounds, acetone, benzene, creosote, methanol, toluene, xylene, carbon disulfide, chlorophenols and cresol. These wastes were transported off-site for disposal on a quarterly basis. Raw materials, intermediate and finished products, equipment and fuels were received and shipped off-site by truck in either bulk form or in drums. In 1988, Koppers Company, Inc. changed their name to Beazer Corporation. In 1989, the facility was bought by Pittsburgh Paint and Glass Company Inc. (PPG).
Up until 1990, wastes generated from the analytical laboratories were carried by hand or by dolly to an onsite Container Storage Facility where they were emptied into drums or other containers before being transported off-site for disposal. Two 240,000 gallon concrete lagoons received washwater from laboratory drains via underground pipelines. Effluent from these lagoons was piped to a limestone contact tank where the water was partially neutralized before discharging directly to the Allegheny County Sanitation Authority (ALCOSAN) Sewage Treatment Plant (a publicly owned public treatment works (POTW). As required by ALCOSAN, this discharge was sampled on a regular bimonthly basis to determine if it met regulatory discharge limits and parameters. Parameters sampled for included heavy metals, oil and grease, cyanide, phenols, organics and pH.
Once PPG bought the Facility in January, 1989, the lagoons and limestone tank were taken out of service by draining these areas, removing all sludge and debris as well as the underlying concrete walls, and backfilling the area with clean soil. The Container Storage Facility was also closed, in accordance with a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) approved workplan in 1990. Another area of interest at the Facility is the former Waste Stabilization Pad, where small quantities of reactive wastes were disposed of onto a concrete pad and allowed to drain to the underlying soils. An investigation of this area was performed in the past, and EPA will review this data to determine if further corrective action is required for this area.
Contaminants at this Facility
Human exposures and groundwater migration are all under controlled at this site.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
There are no institutional controls at the site yet.
Land Reuse Information at this Facility
The site is under continued use.
Site Responsibility at this Facility
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action activities at this facility have been conducted under the direction of EPA Region 3.