Pennsylvania Battery Site to Be Cleaned Up by Fall

The cleanup of the former Brown's Battery Breaking site in Tilden Township, Pa., is expected to be completed by the end of September, federal Environmental Protection Agency officials announced Wednesday.

The EPA also will begin to return polluted groundwater to its original state by injecting it with a mixture of baking soda and water, according to EPA project manager Christopher J. Corbett.

The EPA began to treat and remove lead-contaminated soil from the site about a year ago, said Michael Zickler, on-scene coordinator.

So far, about two-thirds of the contaminated soil has been treated and disposed of, he said.

The remaining soil lies 1 to 3 feet deep around the entire site, where rainwater has filtered down and spread the contamination, Zickler said.

He expects to finish the cleanup by July 24.

Afterward, Exide Corp. will come in and backfill the site with clean soil, Corbett said.

Exide has promised to turn half of the site into a natural area by planting a shrub or tree every 4 feet, Corbett added.

The entire site should be cleaned by Sept. 30, he said.

Brown's Battery recycled batteries for lead from 1961 to 1971 and then dumped battery casing in holes nearby, raising lead and arsenic levels in the soil.

Exide Corp., which never operated the plant, was responsible for the cleanup because it purchased companies responsible for the contamination.

Exide began the cleanup in 2000, but financial troubles delayed the work and Exide filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2002.

After the work stalled, the EPA agreed to take over the job, which officials estimated would cost $4 million.

The proposed change in groundwater cleanup presented Wednesday will lower the cost down by about $2.4 million, Corbett said.

The EPA intended to construct a water-treatment plant and limestone barrier, Corbett said, but it decided to use a different technique -- baking soda.

Testing showed that sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda, would be just as effective in neutralizing the groundwater, Corbett said.