EPA RCRA ID: PAD002387926
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.
Merck is currently under a Consent Order issued in September, 1994, with the EPA. The contaminants of concerns are Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) (including chloroform, Tetrachloroethylene (PCE), and trichloroethylene (TCE)) in groundwater. The Facility currently operates 12 pumping wells with activated carbon systems to treat the groundwater and to sustain hydraulic control of the groundwater plume. The treated groundwater is recycled through the facility and is used for manufacturing and potable water purposes.
Merck connected 58 local residents to a public water supply system. For the residents who choose to remain on well water, Merck tests their wells quarterly. Water from all these wells meet the Federal drinking water standards. Under a Consent Order, Merck publishes a yearly Information Bulletin for the community. Merck will continue to monitor offsite residential wells to ensure that the current remediation continues to control and remediate the groundwater contamination.
In September, 1998, EPA gave Merck permission to discontinue the in-situ vapor extraction system. Merck will continue to monitor the groundwater to ensure that the groundwater plume remains stable is not migrating offsite.
Merck continues to maintain the cap for the former onsite landfill. The landfill remains non-operational. The original soil cap for the landfill was asphalted in 1999 and the area was converted to a parking lot for truck trailers. The cap eliminates any direct exposures to the wastes in the former landfill.
On September 23, 2002, EPA determined that contamination in groundwater and human exposures risk from contaminants were under control.
On November 18, 2014 , the EPA conducted a Long Term Stewardship assessment to assess whether the remedy was implemented and protective of human health and the environment. EPA determined that the remedy institutional and engineering controls have been fully implemented and no control deficiencies were identified.
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.
The Merck Facility is approximately 400 acres in size and located one mile south of Lansdale in Upper Gwynedd Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. At this location, Merck manufactures pharmaceutical products and conducts research for new product development.
Contaminants at this Facility
The contaminants of concerns are VOCs (including chloroform, PCE, and TCE) in groundwater.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
Under September 1994, Consent Order, carbon systems used to treated groundwater are monitored and tested quarterly to ensure groundwater meets Federal Drinking Water Standards for residents using well water.
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?
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Control(s) Type |
Control(s) in Place? |
Areas Subject to Control(s) |
Documents available on-line: |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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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.