Mid-Atlantic Superfund

EPA Region 3 (Mid-Atlantic)

Delaware
Kent County
Cheswold

EPA ID# DED980704860

1st Congressional District

Last Update: June 2008

Other Names

Reichhold Chem Inc. #1
Coker's Landfill #1 & #2

Current Site Status

Construction of the remedy for the Coker’s Sanitation Service Landfills site, located in Cheswold, Delaware, was completed September 1993. Groundwater, surface water, and sediment were monitored on a regular basis until late in 1998, and the results indicated that the remedy is performing effectively. A Five-Year Review completed in January 1999 determined that regular monitoring was no longer necessary. EPA completed a second Five-Year Review in 2003. Institutional Controls have been placed on Landfill #1. EPA is working with the State of Delaware to finalize deed restrictions on Landfill #2. EPA is writing the Final Closeout Report and to delete the site from the National Priorities List.

Site Description

The Coker’s Sanitation Service Landfills site consists of two landfills used during the 1960's and early 1970's exclusively for the disposal of waste from the manufacture of latex rubber. One landfill consists of an unknown number of unlined trenches; the second consists of 51 lined trenches, a leachate collection system for each trench, and a groundwater monitoring network. An estimated 110,000 cubic yards of waste is buried in both landfills. Styrene, a probable human carcinogen, and ethyl benzene have been found in the waste material and in leachate, and could potentially impact the Columbia aquifer, which directly underlies the site and serves as a source of drinking water for local residents. Approximately 4000 people live within three miles of the site. Adjacent to one of the landfills, the Columbia aquifer discharges to the Willis Branch of the Leipsic River, which feeds Garrison’s Lake, a recreational area.

Site Responsibility

This site is being addressed through federal, state, and potentially responsible parties' actions.

NPL Listing History

This site was proposed to the National Priorities List of the most serious uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous waste sites requiring long term remedial action on April 10, 1985. The site was formally added to the list July 22, 1987, making it eligible for federal cleanup funds.

Threats and Contaminants

On-site soil is contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as ethylbenzene and styrene from the latex rubber wastes. These compounds could potentially migrate off-site and threaten local residents, who rely on groundwater for drinking water. In addition, area wetlands are also potentially threatened, since drainage from Coker's Landfill #1 runs through a wetland area on the Willis Branch of the Leipsic River, and Coker's Landfill #2 is partially bordered by wetlands.

Cleanup Progress

Construction Completed

EPA selected a final remedial action for this site in 1990. The action included regrading the landfill surfaces, covering leachate seeps, fencing both landfills, restricting future use of both landfill properties, and monitoring groundwater, surface water, and sediment. The State of Delaware has developed a Groundwater Management Zone in the vicinity of the site to prevent the construction of wells that may potentially become contaminated by the site. Six potentially responsible parties, including McCrory Parent Corporation, Rapid-American Corporation, Nabisco Brands, Inc., Reichold Chemicals, Inc., and two property owners, signed a Consent Decree to implement the remedial action in 1992. Construction activities were completed in September of 1993. Subsequent groundwater, surface water, and sediment monitoring has shown no evidence that the waste material is leaching contaminants to the ground water or surface water. Institutional Controls have been placed on Landfill #1. EPA is working with the State of Delaware to finalize deed restrictions on Landfill #2. EPA is writing the Final Closeout Report and to delete the site

Contacts

Site Contacts

Administrative Record Locations