News Releases from Region 03
EPA Proposes Clarksburg, W.Va. Hazardous Waste Site to Superfunds National Priorities List
PHILADELPHIA (April 6, 2016) - Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that five hazardous waste sites are being added to the National Priorities List (NPL). The Agency also has proposed that eight other hazardous waste sites be added to the NPL. One of the sites now being proposed is North 25th Street Glass and Zinc in Clarksburg, W.Va. Contamination from past industrial practices at this Harrison County site could pose public health and environmental risks.
The National Priorities List (NPL) is the list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for remedial action financed under the federal Superfund program. The NPL is intended to guide the EPA in determining which sites warrant further investigation and cleanup.
"The North 25th Street Glass and Zinc site poses a number of serious environmental and public health risks," said EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. "EPA encourages residents who are potentially affected by this site to participate fully during the upcoming public comment period."
From 1899 through 1989, glass was manufactured at North 25th Street Glass and Zinc, and from 1911 to 1924, zinc ore was processed creating a legacy of hazardous waste. Lead, arsenic and zinc are in soils on the property, and in the ground water and sediments in the nearby West Fork River.
The site is currently owned by Harrison Warehouse Services Company, Inc. and is being used as a storage area for recycled paper for a pulp facility, and an automobile repair service. A large, zinc slag pile on-site contains lead, is accessible to the public, and is eroding into the West Fork River. The site is also accessible by bike from a rails-to-trails bike path.
In 2010, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) requested EPA's assistance. EPA stabilized the area and capped it with an asphalt cover as a temporary measure to address immediate environmental threats. WVDEP supports the proposed NPL listing of this site.
The public is invited to comment on the proposed addition of the site to the NPL during a 60-day comment period from April 7 to June 6, 2016. Starting on April 7, comments can be submitted through: www.regulations.gov
For more information on this proposed site in West Virginia: https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0306876
There is a local repository for site information in the Clarksburg Harrison Public Library , 404 W Pike St, Clarksburg, WV 26301 (304) 627-2236
For Federal Register notices and supporting documents for the final and proposed sites:
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/current-npl-updates-new-proposed-npl-sites-and-new-npl-sites