Superfund Record of Decision (EPA Region 3): Douglassville Disposal Site, Berks County, Pennsylvania, September 1985. Final report

Technical Report · Fri Sep 27 04:00:00 EDT 1985

OSTI ID:5621049

The Douglassville Disposal Site occupies approximately 50 acres of land along the southern bank of the Schuylkill River in southeastern Berks County, Union Township, Pennsylvania. Site operations included lubricating-oil recycling in 1941 and waste solvents recycling in the 1950's and 1960's. Wastes generated from these operations were stored in several lagoons located in the northern half of the site until 1972. In November 1970, ten days of heavy rain caused the lagoons to overflow and breach safety dikes releasing 2-3 million gallons of wastes. The dikes were repaired and a Federal decree was issued stating that no more waste material was to be stored in the lagoons. Actions were also initiated to dispose of remaining waste materials. Before the action could be carried out, tropical storm Agnes caused the Schuylkill River to overflow its banks and inundate the entire site. An estimated 6 to 8 million gallons of wastes were released and carried downstream by floodwaters for about 15 miles.

• Research Organization: Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5621049
• Report Number(s): PB-86-172541/XAB
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
DISASTERS
DISSOLUTION
FEDERAL REGION III
FLOODS
GROUND WATER
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INDUSTRIAL WASTES
LAND RECLAMATION
LAWS
LEACHING
LICENSES
LIQUID WASTES
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OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PENNSYLVANIA
POLLUTION
POLLUTION LAWS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOILS
SUPERFUND
USA
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WATER
WATER POLLUTION