EPA RCRA ID: PAD087569620
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) is the public law that creates the framework for the proper management of hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste. Corrective action is a requirement under RCRA that facilities that treat, store or dispose of hazardous wastes, or did so in the past, investigate and clean up hazardous releases into soil, groundwater, surface water and air. For more information, and for more information on RCRA-specific terms used on this page, please visit EPA’s umbrella RCRA web page or EPA’s RCRA Corrective Action page.
On this page:
- Cleanup Activities
- Facility Description
- Institutional/Engineering Controls
- Enforcement and Compliance
- Related Information and Publicly Available Electronic Records
- Contacts for this Facility
Cleanup Activities
EPA and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) conducted a Long-term Stewardship assessment of the Former Cyclops Corporation facility to assess the efficacy of the implemented remedy and to update the community on the status of the RCRA Corrective Action at the Cyclops facility. PADEP inspected the Facility on May 22, 2024, and EPA conducted a records review prior to the inspection. EPA and PADEP determined that the Cyclops facility is in compliance with EPA’s Final Decision for the Cyclops facility and the environmental covenant. Human exposure to contaminated groundwater is controlled through pathway elimination.
EPA sets national goals to measure progress toward meeting the nation’s major environmental goals. For Corrective Action, EPA evaluates two key environmental indicators for each facility: (1) current human exposures under control and (2) migration of contaminated groundwater under control. In August 2013, EPA determined that both the Human Exposures and Groundwater Environmental Indicators have been met at the Cyclops facility.
In August 2017, EPA issued a Final Decision for the Cyclops facility requiring Institutional Controls to restrict land use. The Institutional Controls are listed below in “Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility”.
On July 31, 2024 , 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 Background
The groundwater at the site has not formally received non-use aquifer designation from PADEP, however, the facility and surrounding properties are on public water. The Buyer Covenants in the Consent Order & Agreement (CO&A) included not to use the groundwater for any consumptive use. In 1994, benzene concentrations in groundwater monitoring wells MW-4 and MW-5 exceeded the MSC. MW-3 which is down gradient of the source area did not contain petroleum compounds.
In 1995, approximately 250 tons of soil were excavated, treated, and re-introduced into the excavation as clean backfill (some contaminated soil could not be treated due to building structural integrity concerns). Confirmation soil samples analyzed for total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) and benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) following the source area remediation showed that these constituents were less than analytical detection limits or were well below Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) generic groundwater protection levels. On September 24, 1996, PADEP stated the requirements of the CO&A had been met.
In 2003, benzene was detected in soil at 10-12 feet bgs in the underground storage tank (UST) area at concentrations that exceeded the used aquifer soil-to groundwater MSC. Benzene was detected in groundwater at 265 ug/L. Additionally, cyanide was detected at two soil sampling locations above the Act 2 soil-to-groundwater MSC for used aquifers. Cyanide was not detected in groundwater above the MSCs.
Cleanup Actions or environmental indicators characterizing the entire facility are shown below. This listing, and all the data on this page, come from EPA’s RCRAInfo and are refreshed nightly to this page. For this table, 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.
Facility Description
Link to a larger, interactive view of the map.
The facility is situated on approximately five acres of land along Herron Ave in Pittsburg, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The facility is restricted to commercial/industrial use.
From 1934 to 1995, the facility was operated by the Cyclops Corporation which manufactured industrial metal building panels. Some documents state that E.G. Smith Construction Products owned the site along with Cyclops. In 1993 the property was transferred to Smith Steelite. John Maneely Company, which did business as Pittsburg Industrial Plating (PIP), purchased the facility in 1995. PIP operated from 1995 until 2002. Sampson Morris Group purchased and redeveloped the property in 2006. Sampson Morris is a commercial real estate development and property management organization that specializes in the purchase and repositioning of office and warehouse properties in western Pennsylvania.
On November 15, 1980, Cyclops submitted a Part A Hazardous Waste Permit Application to USEPA. On December 22, 1980, the USEPA ID: PAD087569620 was assigned. A firm called PIP (Pittsburgh Industrial Plating) , located at One Herron Avenue, was also assigned USEPA ID: PAD987397148 in 1995. On May 21, 1997, PIP wished to retire the latter ID that was issued in 1995. However, both EPA IDs are associated with the same location at 1 Herron A venue. Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) info Facility Information for PAD087569620, PIP is still associated with that EPA ID as Large Quantity Generator (LQG) (active), although PIP does not own or operate the facility any longer and no waste generation activities currently exist at the location.
Primary contaminant of concern was benzene from former underground storage tanks.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
Institutional Controls enforced through an environmental covenant at the Cyclops facility state:
- The Facility property shall not be used for residential purpose unless it is demonstrated to EPA that such use will not pose a threat to human health and EPA provides prior written approval of such use.
- Any excavation or other construction activity within the footprint of contaminated areas at the Facility shall employ measures to protect workers from unacceptable exposure to contaminants.
- The Facility property shall not use groundwater unless it is demonstrated to EPA that such use will not pose a threat to human health and EPA provides prior written approval of such use.
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) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
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) | |||
|
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 and Publicly Available Electronic Records
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.