Chain Bike Corp Allentown, Pennsylvania The Road to Reuse ~~~ Constructed in 1969, this 41-acre site in Allentown, Pennsylvania was occupied by Ross Bicycles, Inc. (formerly named Chain Bike Corporation), a manufacturer of bicycles and metal ammunition boxes from 1970 until approximately 1988. The manufacturing processes during this period included metal electroplating, electrostatic spray painting, metal stamping, finishing, assembly and warehousing. The facility included various aboveground and underground storage tanks, an on-site wastewater treatment plant that processed the wastes generated from electroplating baths, drum storage pads and a drum storage building for hazardous and non- hazardous materials. The facility was inactive after 1988, but was purchased by Conewago Equities, LP for use as a warehouse in 1998. In 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) initiated immediate cleanup operations under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) on the 41 - acre site. This cleanup focused on eliminating any immediate threat to Approximate total acres and current use Approximate Acres in Reuse: 41 Current Use: Manufacturing, offices, shipping human health and the environment, and consisted mostly of removing hazardous wastes from the main process building and the drum storage building at the site. Since 1992, there have been several site assessments performed to investigate soils and hydrogeologic conditions at the facility. As a result of these investigations, several removal actions have taken place. Soils contaminated with heavy metals above acceptable levels were excavated from several areas at the facility and transported off- site for disposal. After submitting the November 2002 Final Report for soils, the facility achieved the non-residential Statewide Health Standard for soils under PADEP's Land Recycling and Environmental Remediation Standards Act (Act 2). This report was approved by both PADEP and EPA by January 2003, meaning that soils at the facility require no further action. The comprehensive groundwater investigation under Act 2 continues at the site and 2008 sampling results are being analyzed and considered for possible remediation steps. While groundwater monitoring will continue for some time, both human health and the environment are under no threat from contamination and the 41 acre property has been returned to productive use. First Industrial Realty Trust bought the site from Conewago in 2007. The facility presently hosts seven tenants: a beverage company, tire company (shipping newly manufactured tires, with six employees), fragrance manufacturer (producing scented lotions and soaps with 23 employees), two packaging companies, sprinkler couplings manufacturer (employing 60 people to assemble sprinkler pipe fittings), and uniform sales company. The redevelopment of the former Chain Bike property has resulted in more than 100 new jobs for the Lehigh Valley. For More Information EPA Region 3 Contact: Griff Miller, (215) 814-3407, miller.griff@epa.gov I] www.epa.nov/rea3wcmd/correctiveaction.htm ------- |