The Superfund cleanup

The Kimberton Superfund site in East Pikeland Township, Chester County, is one of 1,255 locations on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Priorities List.

The 45-acre site on Cold Stream Road was contaminated in the 1940s and '50s when the previous owner, Ciba-Geigy Corp., dumped chemicals - mainly trichloroethene (TCE) - into eight lagoons, the EPA says.

Now, the Henry Co. manufactures asphalt products on the site, according to the EPA.

In the last 10 years, more than 3,000 pounds of volatile organic compounds have been removed from the groundwater by a well system that treats the water. The decontaminated water is then deposited into a tributary of French Creek.

The EPA's last five-year review of the site in 2004 found that the remediation process is "protective of human health and the environment." The next review is due in September 2009.

More information on the Kimberton site and a list of Superfund sites can be found at www.epa.gov/superfund.

- William Bender