![[logo] US EPA](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081105142656im_/http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
NPL Site Narrative for Bally Ground Water Contamination
BALLY GROUND WATER CONTAMINATION
Bally Borough, Pennsylvania
Federal Register Notice: July 22, 1987Conditions at proposal (June 10, 1986): The 5,100 people in the Borough of Bally, Berks County, Pennsylvania, depend on wells for their drinking water. No alternative water supplies are presently available. Tests conducted by the Borough of Bally and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources (PA DER) detected up to 3,000 parts per billion of 1,1,1-trichloroethane in Well #3 of the Bally Municipal Authority. In December 1982, the authority took Well #3 out of service. To remove volatile organic chemicals, the authority pumps water from the well and sprays it into a pond that discharges into the West Branch of Perkiomen Creek.
The source of the Bally ground water contamination is unknown at this time. According to a study performed by PA DER, the probable source is Bally Case and Cooler Co., which manufactures urethane-insulated panels for refrigerating units on a site approximately 1,000 feet to the south of municipal Well #3. The company used lagoons on its property to dispose of plant wastes from at least 1960 to 1965. Later, a plant office and parking lot were built on the old lagoon areas.
Status (July 22, 1987): In January 1987, EPA entered into a Consent Order with Bally Case and Cooler Co. to conduct a remedial investigation to determine the type and extent of contamination at the site. The work is now underway.
For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on the Internet at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaq.html or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.