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Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Ethyl Capitol Products Corporation in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

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Cleanup Status

To facilitate the redevelopment of the property, the facility structures were demolished in 1994. R.E. Wright Associates, which was later acquired by SAIC, evaluated the environmental integrity of the property as part of the facility shut-down plan.  Subsequently, SAIC completed numerous extensive environmental investigation, remediation, and monitoring projects at the facility.

The cleanup was performed under the supervision of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) January 27, 1995 Consent Order & Agreement (Order).

EPA evaluated the environmental investigations described above and the continuing groundwater monitoring reports to assure RCRA Corrective Action Program requirements were satisfied. On February 14, 2019 EPA issued a Statement of Basis proposing a decision for the Facility consisting of natural attenuation with: 1) groundwater monitoring, 2) land and groundwater use restrictions, and 3) compliance with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection January 27, 1995 Consent Order and Agreement. On May 17, 2019 EPA issued a Final Decision and Response to Comments selecting monitored natural attenuation with land and groundwater use restrictions as the Final Remedy for the Facility.

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Site Description

Interactive of Ethyl Capitol Products Corporation, Mechanicsburg, PA

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Capitol was an extruded aluminum products manufacturer in Mechanicsburg, PA that operated between 1956 and 1991.  Capitol fabricated aluminum windows, doors, light fixtures, and other products by melting scrap aluminum and casting the metal into billets, extruding the billets, cleaning and anodizing their surfaces, and painting the finished metal at the 6034 Carlisle Pike facility in Cumberland County. The facility’s buildings occupied 650,000 square feet of property, the majority of which was dedicated to the construction of final aluminum products. The property, approximately 45 acres, is bordered by U.S. Route 11 to the north, Overnite Transportation Company/UPS Freight on the west, the United States Navy Ship Parts Control Center (NSPCC) to the south and southeast, and Brandywine Group on the east (Appendix B – Site Location Map). 

Capitol owned the site from 1956 until it sold the property to Olympic Realty and Development Corporation in 1995.  Prior to 1956, several families owned the properties that became Capitol.  Activities on the properties prior to 1956 are unknown.  Ethyl Corporation obtained a controlling interest in Capitol Products in 1969. Tredegar Industries (now Tredegar Corporation), headquartered in Richmond, VA, became the sole shareholder of Capitol in July 1989 when Ethyl Corporation spun off its plastic and aluminum businesses, including Capitol.  Due to continuous business deterioration, the Capitol facility closed in February 1991 and the property was marketed for sale. 

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Contaminants at this Facility

Benzene, 1,1-dichloroethene (DCE), 1,2-DCE, 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA), tetrachloroethene (PCE), trichloroethene (TCE), and vinyl chloride have been detected above their respective maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) in select wells.

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Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility

EPA has determined that the following Institutional Controls are necessary:

  1.  Prohibit future residential use by complying with the current CG (commercial general) zoning established by Hampden Township, and
  2.  Prohibit groundwater us in compliance with the PADEP January 27, 1995 Order.

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Land Reuse Information at this Facility

The former facility is currently occupied by a shopping center complex that includes Home Depot, Circuit City, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and other commercial entities along Carlisle Pike. 

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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.

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