&EPA United Stales Environmental Protection Agency OSWER/OSRTI State, Tribal, and Site Identification Branch Washington, DC 20460 National Priorities List (NPL) * * *Final Site * * * March 2008 PLATING, INC. Great Bend, Kansas Barton County (?) Site Location: Plating, Inc. facility is a former chromium and zinc plating facility located in Barton County, Great Bend, Kansas. The Plating Inc. facility is located in an industrial area at the Great Bend Airport surrounded by agricultural land. A contaminated ground water plume is migrating from the Plating, Inc. facility in a north-easterly direction towards the City of Great Bend, Kansas. The ground water contamination is approximately two miles long. xl Site History: Plating, Inc. began chromium plating operations in 1968. Zinc plating processes were added at the facility in 1975. In 1988, while conducting an inspection of the facility, the Kansas Department of Health & Environment (KDHE) detected soil contamination and determined that the facility had been operating without air pollution control systems. In 1989, KDHE ordered the facility to address state and federal violations for the handling and storage of hazardous wastes and remove the contaminated soil. Soil was excavated in 1990 under the guidance of KDHE. Also in 1990, the facility installed a chromium fume scrubber on the ventilation system to prevent recontamination of the soil. In 1991, ground water sampling was conducted and it was determined that the ground water was contaminated with chromium. In 1994, the Plating, Inc. facility signed an order with KDHE to conduct an investigation and remediation of the chromium contamination from the facility. In 1998, the facility installed a shallow remedial well to contain and remediate the shallow plume. In 2002 after determining the remedial well was not fully containing the shallow plume, a new remedial well was installed. In 2005, the Plating, Inc. facility ceased operations. In 2006 while conducting an inspection of the former Plating facility, KDHE discovered several tanks of solutions that were abandoned and possibly leaking. 1 Site Contamination/Contaminants: To date, one domestic well contains chromium above EPA's Safe Drinking Water Act maximum contaminant level (MCL). KDHE is currently providing bottled water to this business, along with another business which has chromium in their domestic well below the MCL. rtft Potential Impacts on Surrounding Community/Environment: Chromium ground water contamination attributable to the Plating, Inc. facility is contaminating both private and municipal wells. KDHE has identified at least three public water supply wells that are threatened by the contamination from the Plating, Inc. facility. Also, domestic water supply wells for two businesses have been contaminated. The threatened public water supply wells and domestic wells are being monitored. ^ Response Activities (to date): KDHE requested Plating, Inc. to install a remedial well in the shallow aquifer to protect public water supply well No. 8 from the chromium plume as well as containing the plume. A remedial well was installed in the shallow aquifer and began operation in 1998. In 2001, it was determined the remedial well was not fully containing the shallow plume. An additional remedial well was installed in the shallow aquifer in 2002. Additionally, EPA performed a removal action at the Plating, Inc. facility. More than 10,000 gallons of plating solutions (including chromic acid, muriatic acid, and sulfuric acid) were removed from the facility. B Need for NPL Listing: The State of Kansas and EPA evaluated other cleanup programs and no other viable options were available. EPA received a letter of support for placing this site on the NPL from the State of Kansas. [The description of the site (release) is based on information available at the time the site was evaluated with the HRS. The description may change as additional information is gathered on the sources and extent of contamination.] For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on the Internet at http://www.atsdr.cdc. gov/toxfaq .html or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737. ------- |