资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

A site in Delaware may be removed from the list of the nation’s most contaminated sites.

According to a press release, the EPA proposed that Chem-Solv, Inc, a former small solvent distillation facility, be removed from the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). After years of treatments and reviews, the site has been deemed complete by the EPA.

“Deletions from the NPL can revitalize communities, raise property values, and promote economic growth by signaling to potential developers and financial institutions that cleanup is complete,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz in a press release. “This can be especially impactful for communities with environmental justice concerns.”

The Chem-Solv, Inc site in Chesworld, Delaware was founded in 1982. In 1984, an explosion and fire destroyed the site, and authorities found, per the press release, high concentrations of volatile organic compounds, the most present being trichloroethene.

Trichloroethene is a hazardous chemical used to clean electronic and metal components. According to a safety data sheet, it may cause cancer and eye and skin irritation.

Treatment began in 1997 and continued until 2017 when samples showed that “concentrations had dropped below cleanup levels.”

In 2018, the EPA’s fourth five-year review concluded that the site “protects human health and the environment because there are no known exposures to the contaminated groundwater.”

Late last month, EPA released a recommended list of 10 sites for partial or full removal from the NPL.