EPA RCRA ID: PA0000453084
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Facility Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Institutional/Engineer Controls
- Enforcement and Compliance
- Related Information
- Contacts for this Facility
Cleanup Status
Note: The EPA is the lead agency for managing cleanups at this facility.
In 2011, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) and its contractor (Baker) conducted a site inspection at the facility. The inspection key environmental indicators ( to determine whether any unacceptable risk to human health and/or the environment is ongoing at the facility.
EPA has determined on October 26, 2012 that the Facility has no contamination problem that creates an unacceptable risk to human health nor is there any evidence of adverse groundwater contamination impact to the environment and issued Corrective Action Statement of Basis without Controls.
Cleanup Actions or environmental indicators characterizing the entire facility are shown below. It is not intended as an extensive list of milestones/activities. This listing, and all the data on this page, come from EPA’s RCRAInfo and are refreshed nightly to this page. For this table and the Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility table that follows, a blank in the Status column could mean the action either has not occurred or has not been reported in RCRAInfo.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to the Entire Facility
| Action | Status | Date of Action |
|---|---|---|
| Human Exposure Under Control Human Exposure Under Control(CA725) | ||
| Groundwater Migration Under ControlGroundwater Migration Under Control (CA750) | ||
| Remedy DecisionRemedy Decision (CA400) | ||
| Remedy ConstructionRemedy Construction (CA550) | ||
| Ready for Anticipated Use Ready for Anticipated Use (CA800) | ||
| Performance Standards AttainedPerformance Standards Attained (CA900) | ||
| Corrective Action Process TerminatedCorrective Action Process Terminated (CA999) |
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility
| Action | Area Name | Date of Action |
|---|
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Facility Description
Link to a larger, interactive view of the map.
Bethlehem Apparatus Company recycles/reclaims mercury from mercury bearing hazardous waste. The facility processes a wide variety of solid and liquid mercury bearing wastes. The reclaimed mercury is transport to the Bethlehem Apparatus Company Hellertown, PA facility for further refining by distillation for sale to commercial and industrial users.
The facility is an approximately 38,400-square foot facility, which includes an office area, a paved receiving lot, a material sorting and preparation area with various safety and handling equipment, an enclosed and covered container storage area, six high vacuum mercury retorts and associated equipment, a high vacuum auto-feed retort system, a calomel (mercurous chloride) process area and a research and development laboratory. All hazardous and non-hazardous waste, raw material, and product handling and storage activities are conducted within the enclosed building. The facility does not make use of hazardous waste disposal, waste piles, land treatment or application, or surface impoundments.
Contaminants at this Facility
Based on the site visit and the comprehensive file review, there appears to be no indications of spills or releases that have negatively impacted soil, groundwater, surface water, or air that would lead to adverse impacts to human health or the environment at this time.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
Institutional controls were not required at the site.
Institutional and Engineering Controls help ensure human exposure and groundwater migration are under control at a cleanup facility. Where control types have been reported by states and EPA in EPA’s RCRAInfo, they are shown below. Not all control types are needed at all facilities, and some facilities do not require any controls. Where there are blanks, the control types may not be needed, may not be in place, or may not be reported in RCRAInfo.
Are Controls in Place at this Facility?
|
Control(s) Type |
Control(s) in Place? |
Areas Subject to Control(s) |
Documents available on-line: |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Institutional ControlsNon-engineering controls used to restrict land use or land access in order to protect people and the environment from exposure to hazardous substances remaining in the site/or facility. (CA 772) |
Informational DevicesInformational Devices (ID) |
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Governmental Controls (GC) |
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Enforcement and Permit Tools (EP) |
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| Proprietary ControlsProprietary Controls (PR) | ||||
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Engineering ControlsEngineering measures designed to minimize the potential for human exposure to contamination by either limiting direct contact with contaminated areas or controlling migration of contaminants. (CA 770) |
Groundwater ControlGroundwater Control (GW) |
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Non-Groundwater |
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For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Enforcement and Compliance at this Facility
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) provides detailed historical information about enforcement and compliance activities at each RCRA Corrective Action Site in their Enforcement and Compliance Historical Online (ECHO) system.
RCRA Enforcement and Compliance Reports from ECHO
Related Information
For more information about this facility, see these other EPA links:
- RCRA information in EPA’s Envirofacts database
- Information about this facility submitted to EPA under different environmental programs as reported in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Alternative Names for this facility as reported by EPA programs in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Cleanups in My Community provides an interactive map to see EPA cleanups in context with additional data, and lists for downloading data
- Search RCRA Corrective Action Sites provides a search feature for Corrective Action Sites
Documents, Photos and Graphics
Contacts for this Facility
EPA Region implements and enforces the RCRA Corrective Action program for and federally recognized tribes.
For further information on this corrective action site, use the Contact Information for Corrective Action Hazardous Waste Clean Ups listings that are accessible through Corrective Action Programs around the Nation.