Zonolite Company/W.R. Grace, 202 E. Cherry Street, New Castle, Pennsylvania
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EPA
Region		 Location of facility Type of facility Amount
of ore
received
(in tons)		 Did
EPA
visit
the
site?		 Were
samples
taken?		 Results of
evaluation
3 202 E. Cherry Street, New Castle, Pennsylvania Former exfoliation facility 172,140 Yes-March 23, 2000 Yes According to an EPA database compiled from W.R. Grace shipping invoices, 172,140 tons of Libby ore were shipped to this site between June 1969 and November 1988. This facility was listed as a vermiculite exfoliation plant in reports issued by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, and 1990. EPA determined this facility processed Libby ore from 1969 through 1992. W.R. Grace purchased this approximately 2.5 acre site in July 1969 and constructed a 20,000 square foot building to house exfoliation operations that had been relocated from its Ellwood City, Pennsylvania facility (the Ellwood City facility is listed separately in this database). This facility is located on the outskirts of New Castle, Pennsylvania and the area surrounding the site was used for residential and light commercial purposes. At the time of EPA’s assessment of the site, the property consisted of a vacant corrugated metal building on a partially asphalt and gravel lot. The building had been vacant since exfoliation operations ceased in 1992. When the facility was in operation, it produced attic insulation, silicone- and asphalt-coated masonry insulation, lightweight concrete aggregate, spray-applied fireproofing for structural steel, and horticultural soil conditioners. W.R. Grace worked with a contractor to conduct sampling at the site in 1998, 1999, and 2003. After collecting and analyzing 123 surface and subsurface samples, the results indicated levels of asbestos as high as 12.8 percent in one area where waste rock had been disposed of. These samples were analyzed using either polarized light microscopy (PLM) or transmission electron microscopy (TEM). EPA collected samples at the site on two occasions. First, in 2000, EPA collected two soil samples from inside the former exfoliation building and analysis of the samples using PLM indicated that neither sample contained detectable levels of asbestos. EPA did not collect bulk/soil samples outside of the facility since W.R. Grace had previously conducted sampling in that area. Second, in 2002, EPA collected six soil samples and analysis of the samples indicated that one sample contained less than 1-percent asbestos, one sample contained less than 3-percent asbestos, and the other four samples did not contain detectable levels of asbestos. These samples were analyzed using both PLM and TEM. As a result of the sampling, W.R. Grace coordinated with the state of Pennsylvania to clean up contaminated soils at the site. EPA worked in conjunction with the state and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) on cleanup requirements and EPA conducted limited oversight during the cleanup. The cleanup was completed in August 2004. ATSDR's health consultation report for this site can be found at Agency for Toxic Substancesand Disease Registry (ATSDR)

GAO-09-6R