Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Constellium Rolled Products in Ravenswood, West Virginia
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Site Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Institutional/Engineer Controls
- Land Reuse
- Site Responsibility
Cleanup Status
In April 1995, EPA and Kaiser entered into a Final Administrative Order on Consent, U.S.. EPA Docket Number RCRA-III-008-TH, (1995 Consent Order) pursuant to Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Section 7003 under which Kaiser was required, among other things, to conduct an RFI of the SPP Facility (SPP RFI), which was one of the two parcels retained by Kaiser after the sale to Ravenswood Aluminum in 1989.
EPA issued a Final Decision and Response to Comments (FDRTC) for the former Ravenswood facility, which is now partially owned by both Century Aluminum and Constellium Rolled Products (formerly Alcan) on November 8, 2011. EPA signed separate Consent Orders for implementation of the selected remedy with Century on March 29, 2013 and Constellium on August 7, 2013.
Century and Constellium submitted a combined Corrective Measures Implementation Plan in September 2013, which was approved by EPA.
Site Description
Located about three miles downstream from Ravenswood, West Virginia, the Century Aluminum of West Virginia site was built by Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Company in 1957 as a fully integrated aluminum producing facility. The facility consists of both an aluminum reduction plant and a fabrication plant that rolls aluminum ingots into plate, sheet and coil. The facility was operated by Kaiser until 1989, when it was sold to Ravenswood Aluminum Corporation. Ravenswood Aluminum bought the entire property except for two parcels retained by Kaiser (TRC Environmental Corporation purchased the two parcels from Kaiser in 2004). Ravenswood Aluminum changed its name to Century Aluminum of WV in 1997. In September 1999, Pechiney purchased approximately 500 acres of the Century Aluminum property including the cast house and fabrication plant from Century Aluminum. Century maintained the aluminum plant portion, and continued to produce aluminum up till 2009, when the plant was shut down. Century obtained a new EPA ID# WVR000016469 for the aluminum plant portion after the sale to Pechiney. Pechiney Rolled Products was bought by Alcan Rolled Products in 2003, which in turn was bought out by Constellium Rolled Products in 2011. Corrective Action is still associated with the original EPA ID number, which is now held by Constellium. Corrective Action still covers the entire site, both Century and Constellium parcels.
Contaminants at this Facility
The main constituent of concern in the groundwater is cyanide, while the main constituents of concern in soil are polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
Institutional Controls (which require annual compliance reporting) include:
- A restriction on the use of groundwater beneath the property for potable purposes or any other use that could result in human exposure, unless such use is required by the Final Remedy or until groundwater is restored to drinking water standards
- A restriction on well drilling on the property without prior written EPA approval, to prevent inadvertent exposure to the contaminated groundwater and adverse affects to the Final Remedy
- A restriction that the property not be used for any purpose other than industrial unless it is demonstrated to EPA that another use will not pose a threat to human health or the environment and EPA provides prior written approval for such use
- A restriction that earth moving activities, including drilling, and construction activities are prohibited on the property unless it is demonstrated to EPA that such activity use will not pose a threat to human health or the environment and EPA provides prior written approval for such activity
Land Reuse Information at this Facility
The facility is in continued use.
Site Responsibility at this Facility
RCRA Corrective Action activities at this facility have been conducted under the direction of EPA Region 3 with assistance from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.