Sharon Steel Corp.
Mercer County, Pa.	
Site Description
The Sharon Steel Corporation Farrell Works Disposal Area site is located in Mercer County, Pa., very close to
the Ohio border. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 1998. The site is southwest of the former
Sharon Steel Corporation Farrell Works Facility (the facility is not part of the site) and is bordered on the east
by the Shenango River. From 1900-81, the Sharon Steel Corporation used the site as a dumping area for
various wastes produced in the course of making steel, with the main wastes consisting of slags (solids) and
spent pickle liquor acid (liquids). As a result of those dumping practices, groundwater and soil are
contaminated with metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, PCBs and pesticides. The site is located in the
Shenango River's flood plain and there are several wetland areas on site covering nearly 100 of the site's 350
total acres.
Current Site Status and Cleanup Actions to Date
•	From 1999-2001, EPA conducted a remedial investigation to determine areas of soil, air and
groundwater contamination.
•	A second investigation was performed from 2002 to 2003 and added a wetland assessment,
ecological characterization, biota assessment, and a sediment and hydro-geological assessment in the
deeper groundwater aquifer.
•	EPA has broken the site's cleanup activities into two discrete projects called operable units (OUs). The
cleanup plan for OU1, consisting of a total of 292 acres, includes construction of a biosolid-enhanced
vegetative cap, institutional controls, and long-term monitoring of groundwater and surface water in the
Shenango River.
•	EPA issued an OU2 cleanup plan in 2013 calling for an asphalt cover to be placed on 33 acres of the
site. The cover will allow two businesses located there to operate safely. EPA is preparing to modify
this interim remedy through an explanation of significant differences to allow for a dermal cover in
place of an impermeable cap. EPA is currently negotiating a Consent Decree with responsible parties
to implement the work at OU2.
•	Although funding and completion of this project will result in environmental progress, it will not
eliminate all unacceptable human exposure pathways. Additional work will be needed to do so.
Unfunded Action
Fiscal Year 2014 work that was not funded involves placement of a biosolid-enhanced cap with vegetative
cover, monitoring and institutional controls for 61 acres of OU1 ("phase 1" of the OU1 remedy). The remaining
231 acres of OU1 are being mined for slag beneficial reuse understate permits and a prospective purchaser
agreement with EPA.
Current Funding Status
To date, EPA has not spent any funds on construction work at the site.
For more information on this site, please read the Sharon Steel site information on the Region 3
Superfund web site.

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