ENVIRONMENTAL. STRATEGIES CORPORATION 8521 LEESBURG PIKE, SUITE 650 VIENNA, VIRGINIA 22182 703-821-3700 ESC FAX-703-821-3734 REMEDIAL INVESTIGATION REPORT FOR THE FORMER HELLERTOWN MANUFACTURING COMPANY SITE HELLERTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA DRAFT REPORT VOLUME I PREPARED BY ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIES CORPORATION JUNE 17, 1991 San Jose, California • Boxborough, Massachusetts • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania!! fl O U t) 0 / U London and Chester, England Contents Page 1.0 Introduction 1-1 1.1 Purpose and Objectives 1-1 1.2 Site Background 1-2 1.2.1 Site Description 1-2 1.2.2 Site History 1-7 1.2.3 Previous Investigation 1-27 1.2.3.1 Soils Investigation 1-29 1.2.3.2 Groundwater Investigation 1-29 1.2.3.3 Domestic Well Sampling 1-36 1.2.3.4 Surface Water Sampling ' 1-40 1.3 Report Organization 1-42 References 1-44 2.0 Physical Characteristics of the Study Area 2-1 2.1 Meteorology and Climatology 2-1 2.2 Surface Features 2-6 2.3 Surface Water Hydrology 2-8 2.4 Geology 2-10 2.4.1 Physiographic Setting 2-10" 2.4.2 Stratigraphy 2-13 2.4.2.1 Regional Stratigraphy 2-13 2.4.2.2 Local Stratigraphy 2-15 2.4.3 Structure 2-17 2.4.3.1 Regional Structure 2-17 2.4.3.2 Local Structure 2-18 2.5 Soils 2-20 2.6 Hydrogeology 2-22 2.6.1 Regional 2-22 2.7 Demography and Land Use 2-27 2.7.1 Regional Setting 2-27 2.7.2 Demographics 2-28 2.7.3 Land Use 2-28 2.7.4 Economy and Employment 2-31 2.7.5 Waste Disposal and Wastewater Treatment 2-31 2.7.6 Natural Resources 2-34 2.8 Ecology 2-35 References 2-39 3.0 Study Are* Investigations 3-1 3.1 Topography and Surface Features 3-1 3.2 Contaminant Source Investigations • 3-3 3.3 Geological Investigations 3-8 3.4 Soil Investigation Program 3-17 3.4.1 Background Soil Sample 3-28 3.4.2 Lagoon 1 3-33 3.4.3 Lagoon 2 3-40 3.4.4 Lagoon 3 3-50 - i - &R3Q557I Contents (continued) Page 3.4.5 Lagoon 4 3-60 3.4.6 Lagoon 5 3-70 3.4.7 Summary of Lagoon Soil Sampling Results 3-80 3.4.8 Underground Storage Tank Borings 3-84 3.4.9 Other Soil Samples 3-89 3.5 Surface Water and Stream Sediment Investigation 3-101 3.5.1 Surface Water Characteristics 3-107 3.5.2 Stream Sediment Characteristics 3-110 3.5.3 Surface Water Analyses . 3-110 3.5.4 Stream Sediment Analyses • 3-115 3.6 Groundwater Investigations 3-118 3.6.1 Groundwater Sampling and Analysis 3-146 3.6.2 Summary of Groundwater Analytical Results 3-174 3.6.3 Domestic Wells Sampling 3-179 3.7 Ecological Investigation 3-185 3.7.1 Ecological Study Area 3-186 3.7.2 Ecological and Wetland Assessment 3-186 3.7.2.1 Characteristics of the Study Area 3-186 3.7.2.2 Surface Water Quality 3-193 3.7.2.3 Vegetation and Land Cover 3-193" 3.7.2.4 Wildlife 3-200 3.7.2.5 Wetland Delineation 3-200 3.7.2.6 Other Wetlands Soil and Water Sampling 3-203 References 3-209 4.0 Nature and Extent of Contamination 4-1 4.1 Sources 4-1 4.2 Soils 4-2 4.2.1 Halogenated Organic Compounds 4-3 4.2.2 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons 4-12 4.2.3 Inorganic Constituents 4-13 4.3 Groundwater 4-15 4.3.1 Halogenated Organic Compounds 4-16 4.3.2 Inorganic Compounds 4-21 4.4 Surface Water and Stream Sediment Sampling 4-24 4.4.1 Surface Water 4-25 4.4.1.1 Physical Characteristics and Inorganics 4-25 4.4.2 Stream Sediment 4-26 4.4.2.1 Physical Characteristics and Inorganics 4-26 4.4.2.2 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons 4-27 References 4-30 5.0 Contaminant Fate and Transport 5-1 5.1 Overview 5-1 5.2 Mobilization of Contaminants in Media 5-1 5.2.1 Volatile Organic Compounds 5-2, 5.2.2 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons 5-11 - n - Aft305572 Contents (continued) Page 5.2.3 Inorganic Contaminants 5-12 5;2.3.1 Chromium 5-12 5.2.3.2 Cadmium 5-13 5.2.3.3 Cyanide 5-15 5.2.4 Summary of Potential Migration Pathways 5-15 5.3 Physical Characteristics of the Site 5-16 5.4 Potential for TCE migration 5-17 .5.5 Contaminant Fate 5-20 5.5.1 TCE and Associated Compounds 5-20 5.5.2 Inorganic Compounds 5-21 5.6 Summary of Fate and Transport 5-22 References 5-24 6.0 Human Health Evaluation 6-1 6.1 Introduction 6-1 6.1.1 Overview 6-1 6.1.2 Organization 6-1 6.2 Identification of Contaminants of Potential Concern 6-2, 6.2.1 Historical Chemical Use and Disposal 6-2 6.2.2 Data Evaluation Considerations 6-3 6.2.2.1 Methodology for Quantifying Data 6-3 6.2.2.2 Methodology for Selecting Contaminants of Concern 6-4 6.2.3 Contaminants of Concern in Soils 6-6 6.2.3.1 Volatile Organic Compounds Detected in Soils 6-7 6.2.3.2 Base-Neutral and Acid Extractables Detected in Soils 6-7 6.2.3.3 Inorganic Compounds Detected in Soils 6-7 6.2.4 Groundwater 6-13 6.2.4.1 Volatile Organic Compounds Detected in Groundwater 6-14 6.2.4.2 Base-Neutral and Acid Extractables Detected in Groundwater 6-14 6.2.4.3 Inorganic Compounds Detected in Groundwater 6-17 6.2.5 Surface Water and Sediments 6-20 6.2.5.1 Compounds Detected in Surface Water 6-21 6.2.5.2 Compounds Detected in Sediments 6-21 6.2.6 Domestic Wells 6-22 6.2.7 Summary of Compounds of Potential Concern 6-23 6.3 Toxicity Assessment 6-23 6.3.1 Toxicity Information for Noncarcinogenic Effects 6-25 6.3.2 Toxicity Information for Carcinogenic Effects 6-32 6.3.3 Compounds for Which No EPA Toxicity Values Are Available 6-33 6.4 Exposure Assessment 6-39 6.4.1 Characterization of Exposure Setting 6-40 6.4.1.1 Physical Setting 6-40 6.4.1.2 Potentially Exposed Populations - Current Uses of the Site 6-41 6.4.1.3 Potentially Exposed Populations - Hypothetical Uses of the Site 6-42 - HI - Aft305573 Contents (continued) Page 6.4.2 Identification of Exposure Pathways 6-42 6.4.2.1 Soils 6-42 6.4.2.2 Groundwater 6-43 6.4.2.3 Summary of Exposure Pathways 6-44 6.4.3 Quantification of Exposure 6-44 6.4.3.1 Soil - Inadvertent Ingestion 6-44 6.4.3.2 Soil - Dermal Absorption , 6-50 6.4.3.3 Groundwater - Ingestion 6-51 6.4.3.4 Groundwater - Dermal Absorption 6-54 6.4.3.5 Groundwater - Inhalation 6-60 6.4.4 Summary of Exposure Assessment 6-65 6.5 Risk Characterization 6-65 6.5.1 Methodology - Noncarcinogenic Effects 6-65 6.5.2 Methodology - Carcinogens 6-66 6.5.3 Potential Risks Presented by Soil 6-68 6.5.4 Potential Risks Presented by Groundwater 6-68 6.5.5 Summary of Risk Characterization 6-71 6.6 Sensitivity Analysis 6-73 6.6.1 Conservatism in Exposure Estimates 6-73 6.6.2 Ingestion of Groundwater - Average Exposure 6-74• 6.7 Summary of the Human Health Evaluation 6-78 References 6-81 7.0 Environmental Evaluation 7-1 7.1 Overview 7-1 7.2 Scope of Investigation 7-1 7.3 Site and Study Area Description 7-2 7.3.1 Saucon Creek 7-4 7.3.2 Wetlands 7-6 7.4 Contaminants of Concern 7-8 7.4.1 Site-related Contaminants 7-12 7.4.2 Background Levels 7-12 7.4.3 Potential Migration Pathways 7-16 7.5 Saucon Creek and Wetlands 7-16 7.5.1 Surface Water in Saucon Creek 7-16 7.5.2 Sediments in Saucon Creek 7-18 7.5.3 Wetlands 7-23 7.6 Summary of the Environmental Evaluation 7-29 References 7-32 8.0 Summary and Conclusions 8-1 8.1 Summary 8-1 8.1.1 Nature and Extent of Contamination 8-1 8.1.1.1 Soils 8-2 8.1.1.2 Groundwater 8-3 8.1.2 Fate and Transport 8-3 8.1.3 Risk Assessment and Environmental Evaluation 8-4 - iv - fl.R30557i» Contents (continued) Page 8.2 Conclusions 8-6 8.2.1 Data Limitations and Recommendations for Future Work 8-6 8.2.1.1 Data Limitations 8-6 8.2.1.2 Recommendations 8-7 8.2.2 Recommended Remedial Action Objectives 8-9 List of Figures: Figure 1-1 - Site location map 1-4 Figure 1-2 - Plant layout 1-5 Figure 1-3 - Location of neighboring residences and businesses 1-6 Figure 1-4 - Chemical storage areas 1-10 Figure 1-5 - Aerial photograph of site in 1947 1-12 Figure 1-6 - Aerial photograph of site in 1958 1-13 Figure 1-7 - Aerial photograph of site in 1971 1-14 Figure 1-8 - Aerial photograph of site in 1981 1-15 Figure 1-9 - Underground storage tank locations 1-26 Figure 1-10 - 1986 soil borings 1-30 Figure 1-11 - 1987 soil borings 1-31 Figure 1-12 - Groundwater well locations - December 1984 and January 1985 1-32 Figure 1-13 - Groundwater well locations - January and February 1987 1-34 Figure 1-14 - Kniha & Sheesley well locations 1-37 Figure 1-15 - Preliminary well survey 1-38 Figure 1-16 - Reichard & Kniba well locations 1-39 Figure 1-17 - Saucon Creek sample locations 1-41 Figure 2-1 - Tributaries to Saucon Creek near the former HMC site 2-9 Figure 2-2 - Water level elevations in Saucon Creek from February 1989 to July 1990 2-11 Figure 2-3 - Physiographic map of the former HMC site 2-12 Figure 2-4 - Geological map of the former HMC site 2-16 Figure 2-5 - Location of the outcrop north of the former HMC site 2-19 Figure 2-6 - Soils map of the former HMC site 2-21 Figure 2-7 - Location of the New Jersey zinc mine company 2-24 Figure 3-1 - Surface features at the former HMC site 3-2 Figure 3-2 - Location of underground storage tanks and former equipment wash area at the former HMC site 3-7 Figure 3-3 - Location of gioundwater monitoring wells and geologic cross-section E-E' at the former HMC site ' 3-10 Figure 3-4 - West-east geologic cross-section E-E' 3-14 Figure 3-5 - Location of all soil borings drilled at the former HMC site 3-19 Figure 3-6 - Soil borings completed during the remedial investigation - 1990 3-20 Figure 3-7 - West-east cross-section A-A' through lagoons no.