On this page:

• Cleanup Status
• Site Description
• Contaminants at this Facility
• Site Responsibility
• Site Repository

Cleanup Status

As part of the purchase transactions, between 2007 and 2009, WC conducted several site assessments in which the vertical and horizontal extents of chlorinated solvents and metals were delineated. A total of 21 groundwater sampling locations and 17 soil sampling locations, as well as hydraulic conductivity were assessed at the site.

On January 15, 2015, the EPA approved the Corrective Measures Study, in which WC proposed that Enhanced Active Remediation be selected as the remedial strategy for the southwestern plume at the site and remediation via in-situ chemical reduction be conducted on the eastern plume area, followed by Monitored Natural Attenuation for long term management of the southwestern plume, as needed.

On July 7, 2015, WC submitted the draft Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) for the site, which provides a systematic data collection and analysis structure for conducting the corrective measures. The QAPP includes 37 worksheets that detail various aspects of the environmental investigation process and serves as guidelines for the field work. On January 21, 2016, the EPA granted approval of the final QAPP.

Remediation wells and other remediation system components were installed in Fall 2016 in the southwestern portion of the site. Permits for operation of the remediation system have been issued.

Groundwater sampling events performed in March 2017, November 2017, and August 2019 confirmed the presence of chlorinated solvents (TCE, cis-1,2-DCE, 1,1-DCE, 1,1-DCA, and vinyl chloride) in site groundwater in the southwestern portion of the site. Favorably, the concentrations of the abovementioned chlorinated solvents exhibit a decrease between the onset of groundwater data collection (2009) and 2019. In addition, the November 2017 and August 2019 groundwater sampling results suggest conditions necessary for degradation of the TCE, 1,1-DCE, cis-1,2-DCE, 1,1-DCA, and vinyl chloride in site groundwater were present at select locations throughout the plume. The March 2017, November 2017, and August 2019 groundwater sampling events also determined that the metal COCs (chromium, lead, and arsenic) were no longer detected at concentrations above the laboratory method detection limit in site groundwater.

Site Description

The site was formerly owned by the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO). It consists of an approximately 1.75-acre parcel that was first developed for industrial use in 1977 by the Sylvania Manufacturing Company (later known as Sylvania Lighting Company and Osram Sylvania PR, Inc.), a halogen light manufacturer. In 1996 Osram Sylvania ceased operations and vacated the site.

In 1999, PRIDCO leased the site to Erica International Corporation (EIC), a manufacturer of plastic containers and a purified water bottler. The facility name subsequently changed to Rainbow Water and then to B&B Bottling Corp. (Rainbow Premium). The site was occupied by EIC until June 2005 and has been vacant since that time.

Warner Chilcott (WC) acquired the property from PRIDCO in April 2009. At the moment, the site is unoccupied, and no structures remain. Employee entrance facilities and a guard house were constructed close to the adjacent building wall at the west of the property during the fall of 2012.

Contaminants at this Facility

As a result of historic releases presumed to have been from process and storage units, two areas of groundwater contamination have been identified at the site. The major groundwater plume is located in the southwest corner of the site, co-located within the area of the former emergency generator and hazardous waste storage locations on the western side of the site. A secondary plume is located on the easternmost property boundary that is not proximate to the former site operational areas but next to equipment such as air compressors located on the adjacent industrial property.

The main contaminants of concern (COCs) in the southwestern plume are chlorinated solvents (trichloroethene [TCE], cis-1,2-dichloroethene [DCE], 1,1-DCE, 1,1-dichlorethane [DCA], and vinyl chloride). The main COCs in the eastern plume are metals (chromium, lead, and arsenic). However, as discussed below, the March 2017, November 2017, and August 2019 groundwater sampling events determined that the metal COCs (chromium, lead, and arsenic) were no longer detected at concentrations above the laboratory detection limit in site groundwater.

No drinking water wells exist at the site and or adjacent areas. Groundwater was used only for industrial purposes on site.

Site Responsibility at this Facility

Cleanup at this site is being addressed by WC with oversight from the EPA, under authority of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) through a voluntary Facility-Lead Agreement (FLA). In addition, the Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board (EQB) participates with EPA in the investigation and cleanup decision-making and oversight.

Site Respository

Copies of supporting technical documents and correspondence cited in the site fact sheet are available for public review at the following location:

US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2
Caribbean Environmental Protection Division
City View Plaza II – Suite 7000
No. 48 Rd. 165 KM 1.2
Guaynabo, PR 00968-8069

The inspection of some of the documents cited in the site fact sheet may require a formal request under the United States Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).