Updated October 1, 2007. See below for updates.
The American Street Tannery Site is located in the Northern Liberties Section of Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. The site is within the city block comprised of George, Bodine, American and Widley Streets. The area being investigated includes the site of the former tannery and the residential properties and surrounding homes on Widley Street. The former tannery comprised of a complex of five building that housed different tanneries until 1986. The site was abandoned until 1987 when it was subject to a removal action to stabilize facility of a variety of chemicals including acids, base/neutral, corrosives, toxic, and others. Later in 1990, a fire damaged the buildings. The City of Philadelphia decided to demolish the buildings, but not before vandals broke in and spilled PCB at the site and in the neighborhood. A second removal action took place to cleanup the spilled PCBs. The site was later acquired by Tower Development and redeveloped under PA Act 2 Program. The site is currently owned by Liberty Homes Philadelphia Inc. Residents in proximity of the site have expressed concerns about handling of soils during the redevelopment and chemicals left behind in groundwater.
On December 19, 2006, EPA and START collected surface soil and soil gas samples for analysis, and on January 16, 2007, collected subsurface soil, groundwater, and sump water samples. Several PAHs were detected in the surface soil samples at concentrations exceeding EPA Region 3 RBCs for residential soil, and benzo(a)pyrene was detected at concentrations exceeding PADEP’s soil direct contact MSC in five samples collected from all three properties where surface soil samples were collected. Several common metals were also detected at concentrations exceeding PADEP MSCs and EPA Region 3 RBCs for residential soil. EPA has requested that the Agency for Toxic Substances Disease and Registry (ATSDR) conduct a health consult on all the data results and aid in the determining if there is a health threat to residents and users of Liberty Lands Community Park and Playground due to the constituents found in the soil at the respective concentrations. Ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, and acetone were detected in the soil gas samples. Enviroprobe Services, Inc., EPA's geotechnical subcontractor, used a mixture of isopropyl alcohol and acetone to clean the equipment. It is suspected that this procedure may have caused the elevated concentrations of these compounds in the soil gas samples. These compounds were not detected at elevated levels in the subsurface soil or groundwater samples; therefore, soil gas is not expected to pose a threat to residents in the area. PCE was detected above it’s respective indoor air RBC, but because the result was soil vapor and not indoor air, EPA will consult with ATSDR on what course of action to take. No compounds were detected at concentrations exceeding PADEP MSCs or EPA Region 3 RBCs in the subsurface soil, groundwater, or sump water samples; therefore, subsurface soil, groundwater, and sump water do not pose an immediate threat to residents in the area.
EPA's Trip Report on the field activities summarizing the sampling results can be found in the documents section of this website.
EPA provided this report and all of its data to ATSDR. A Health Consult that includes a review of the data to determine if there is a health threat and conclusions and recommendations for EPA to follow as necessary was released for public comment. ATSDR's Health Consult is available for public review in the documents section of this website. A factsheet with a summary of the findings and recommendations for EPA can also be founded on the documents section of this website.
EPA and ATSDR/PADOH reported on its findings to the residents of Northern Liberties at a NLNA meeting on June 28, 2007. The power point presentations given by EPA and ATSDR/PADOH can be found and viewed in the documents section of this website.
Additional factsheets and links to toxicological profiles for chemicals found during this investigation can be found in the links section of this website.
Last Update October 1, 2007.
Following ATSDR's recomendations, EPA completed indoor air and soil vapor testing at three residential properties in the proximity of the former American Street Tannery. The sampling took place during the week of September 24, 2007. The results of the laboratory analysis on the samples collected duting this sampling event is due in November 2007. A copy of the Sampling and Analysis Plan can be found in the documents section of this website. A summary of field events can be found in the Polreps Section of this website.
