The Department of Environmental Protection will conduct an environmental cleanup at the former Pottstown Plating facility in Pottstown Borough, Montgomery County, to remove hazardous materials left on-site.

The company operated an electroplating facility at 215 South Washington St., Pottstown, from 1950 to 2009, before going bankrupt.

Following a DEP inspection of the plant in 2009, company owners hired a contractor to remove hazardous waste.  Onsite cleanup activities by the company ceased in 2010 due to lack of funding.  Although DEP issued an order in October 2011 requiring completion of the cleanup, Pottstown Plating has taken no further action.

“This facility is unsecured and in disrepair. At our most recent inspection, we found clear evidence of trespassing.  DEP will remove the remaining hazardous material before any chemical release can occur,” DEP Southeast Regional Director Cosmo Servidio said.

Air monitoring performed during a July 30 inspection found no release into the atmosphere, although tanks, drums and totes of heavy metals, cyanides and sodium hydroxide remain, along with hydrochloric acid in onsite sumps.

DEP’s cleanup action is slated to begin in late September, and is expected to last several months.  The department will then hold a public hearing to outline actions the agency has taken to date, giving area residents an opportunity to comment.

DEP’s work at the site is being conducted under the authority of the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, a 1988 law that authorizes the agency to perform cleanup of hazardous waste sites and recover costs from responsible parties.

For more information, call 484-250-5900.

9/23/2013