Dorney Road Landfill is a municipal and industrial landfill in Upper Macungie Township and Longswamp Township,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

that was polluted with toxic waste from 1952 to 1978. The site is surrounded by rural residences and farmland. The

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

(EPA) added the site to the

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...

National Priorities List The National Priorities List (NPL) is the priority list of hazardous waste sites in the United States eligible for long-term remedial investigation and remedial action (cleanup) financed under the federal Superfund program. Environmental Protec ...

in 1984. The site was remediated and removed from the National Priorities List in 2018.

History

The landfill began in 1952 in an old iron-ore pit by R. Emory Mabry. It was expanded to by Harold Oswald who operated the landfill from 1966 to 1979. The state inspected the landfill in 1972 and found that industrial sludge, batteries, and barrels of petroleum product had been dumped on site. Contamination was detected in nearby water wells in 1982 and the landfill was the immediate suspect. Groundwater and soil analyses showed the presence of carcinogenic and other contaminants such as polcyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardne ...

trichloroethylene The chemical compound trichloroethylene is a halocarbon commonly used as an industrial solvent. It is a clear, colourless non-flammable liquid with a chloroform-like sweet smell. It should not be confused with the similar 1,1,1-trichloroethane, ...

tetrachloroethylene Tetrachloroethylene, also known under the systematic name tetrachloroethene, or perchloroethylene, and many other names (and abbreviations such as "perc" or "PERC", and "PCE"), is a chlorocarbon with the formula Cl2C=CCl2 . It is a colorless liq ...

vinyl chloride Vinyl chloride is an organochloride with the formula H2C=CHCl. It is also called vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) or chloroethene. This colorless compound is an important industrial chemical chiefly used to produce the polymer polyvinyl chloride (PVC ...

benzene Benzene is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar ring with one hydrogen atom attached to each. Because it contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms, ...

, and

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but ...

above the EPA's acceptable regulatory levels. The site was added to the

in 1984.

Clean-up

In 1986, the

(EPA) conducted a removal action that included regrading the landfill to prevent runoff and erosion of landfill material. In 1988, the EPA selected a remediation plan for the site which included off-site disposal of of on-site pond water, construction of a dike and diversion ditch system, installation of a multi-layer cap and gas collection system, groundwater monitoring, and restrictions on access to the site and construction near the site. In 1991, the EPA issued a second remediation plan which included the continuation of groundwater monitoring and installation of wellhead treatment units in nearby residences. In 2007, the EPA issued a revision to their original Record of Decision which deemed that controls be put in place to protect the cap over the landfill and that no groundwater wells be installed on the site. Groundwater testing from 2013 to 2017 showed that the metals manganese, mercury, and thallium were all present in excess of the federal maximum contaminant levels. In 2018, the EPA removed the site from the National Priorities List and determined that all performance standards had been achieved and that no additional Superfund response actions, other than operation and maintenance and Five-Year Reviews, were necessary to protect human health and the environment.

Current status

The EPA continues to monitor groundwater and physically inspect the landfill cap on a quarterly basis. A five-year review report conducted in 2018 determined that the remedies in place are protective of human health and the environment. The next five-year review is scheduled to be released in 2023.

References

{{coord, 40.5247, -75.6538, region:US-PA_type:landmark, display=title 1952 establishments in Pennsylvania 1978 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Former landfills in the United States Iron mines in the United States Landforms of Berks County, Pennsylvania Landforms of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Superfund sites in Pennsylvania