Marshall County residents were updated this week on the cleanup of a U.S. EPA Superfund site that began in 1995 near Moundsville.

EPA officials held a public meeting at the Marshall County Health Department, titled “Hanlin-Allied-Olin Superfund Site Community Update.”

Leading the meeting were Lisa Denmark, remedial project manager with the EPA, and Miranda Cento, community involvement coordinator with EPA.

According to information from the EPA, the next step in the process was ordered in 2023. The EPA ordered that two companies responsible for the site must pay for and conduct additional clean up of the site.

Back in 1994, the EPA began an investigation into the site, which is located three miles south of Moundsville between the Ohio River, W.Va. 2 and the Moundsville Golf Course. It was discovered that because of the chemical industries that operated there since the 1950s, the soil and water had become contaminated with many different chemicals.

“Since 1953, the site has featured various owners and operators on both its North and South Plants, including Hanlin Chemicals, Allied Signal (now Honeywell), and Olin,” according to EPA. “The North Plant (Allied and Olin Areas) produced aniline, nitrobenzene, methylene dianiline, dinitrotoluene, toluenediamine, and toluene diisocyanate.

“The South Plant (Hanlin Area) produced chloromethane compounds using the chlor-alkali (mercury cell) process, as well as chlorine and sodium hydroxide. Mercury and chloromethane compounds have been identified in the groundwater.

“Cleanup is focused on protecting the Washington Public Lands Well, a public groundwater supply down gradient of the site. The site was added to the Superfund program’s National Priorities List on July 22, 1999.”

According to published reports, some residents expressed concern during the meeting about the cleanup of the site exposing people to toxins, which they believe resulted in a variety of medical issues. Denmark told residents that was not possible, according to reports.

In 2008, Honeywell and Olin began digging up thousands of cubic yards of contaminated soil, placing it into an on-site landfill.

“Construction of the landfill was completed in August 2009. The landfill consists of two cells with an engineered liner, a leachate collection system, and a multi-layer cap,” according to EPA. “All wastes placed in the landfill were from on-site sources generated during operations. The landfill did not receive waste from off-site sources.

“A soil vapor extraction system was installed in the summer of 2009 to treat contaminated subsurface soils in the former chloromethane production area. Operation of the SVE is ongoing. As of May 2020, the system has removed approximately 336,000 pounds of volatile organic compounds from the subsurface soils.”

While final soil removal still is needed, “source area extraction wells are preventing groundwater in the alluvial aquifer from migrating off-site,” the EPA notes.

“The wastewater treatment plant treats over 300,000 gallons per day with a 99% contaminant removal efficiency, significantly reducing the load of contaminants into the Ohio River,” according to EPA. “Construction of the landfill, both the north and south cells, was completed in August 2009. All of the Hanlin-Allied production buildings, including chloro-methyl and mercury cell buildings, have been removed.”

Jo Ann Dobbs, administrator of the Marshall County Health Department, also attended the meeting. She said the meeting’s purpose was to update residents on the cleanup planning for the site and to “give nearby residents an opportunity to hear directly from the EPA and ask questions.”

“From a public health perspective, we always support efforts that protect residents and the environment, and EPA leads the environmental testing and cleanup activities for this site,” she said. “Regarding health concerns raised during the meeting, EPA staff explained that – based on the environmental monitoring they have conducted – they do not believe residents are being exposed to the chemicals discussed.”

She added that EPA officials said they have been doing a lot of testing at the site and will continue to monitor air, soil and water as the cleanup moves forward.

“That information comes directly from EPA’s presentations and responses during the meeting,” she said. “In general terms, EPA also reviewed the next steps for the site, including the first phase of cleanup work that will focus on priority areas on the property. The timeline and technical details for that work come from EPA’s planning documents and briefings.”

In January, Houston, Texas-based Calpine LLC announced plans to build a 500-megawatt natural gas power plant on a portion of the Superfund site. More than a decade ago a different company announced it planned to do the same, but that project never started.