Bishop Tube

This page was last updated on March 10, 2021

Site Facts

Location: Malin Road, south of U.S. Route 30, East Whiteland Township, Chester County
HSCA Site Since: 1999
Primary Contaminant of Concern: Trichloroethene (TCE) its breakdown products, and heavy metals, among other contaminants of concern, have been detected in soil, surface water, groundwater and indoor air at the Site
Historical Use: Stainless steel tubes were manufactured from the 1950’s until 1999
Previous Property Owners and Operators: Johnson Matthey Inc. (previously known as J. Bishop, Matthey Bishop) , Whittaker Corporation, Christiana Metals Corporation, Alloy Steel Corporation, Marcegaglia USA, Central & Western Chester County Industrial Development Authority
Current Property Owner: Constitution Drive Partners L.P. (CDP)
Listing: On September 11, 2010 DEP facilitated the future Remedial Response action(s) as defined in HSCA by placing the Site to Pennsylvania’s Priority List of Hazardous Sites for Remedial Response (“PAPL”)

• Bishop Tube Terminology (PDF)
• Bishop Tube Community Presentation June 2017 – Abridged (PDF)
• Bishop Tube Source Area Response Public Hearing January 2007 (PDF)

What's New (As of March 2021)

Please refer to the CDP and Investigation Status sections for updated information and documentation.

Current Property Update

CDP submitted preliminary land development plans to East Whiteland Township, which the municipality approved by resolution with conditions on February 10, 2021. For details associated with the plans, please refer to East Whiteland Township's website. CDP has not yet submitted to DEP any applications related to its proposed development activities, such as storm water management, etc. CDP is required to allow reasonable access to the property for assessment and remediation. DEP considers any local land development issues, such as zoning or steep slope variances, to be exclusively under the authority of East Whiteland Township.

Investigation Status

On January 13, 2021, DEP received the updated remedial investigation (RI) report (RIR)and the Feasibility Study (FS). The RIR & FS were submitted by Roux Associates on behalf of Johnson Matthey, Inc. and Whittaker Corp. (JM/W), pursuant an agreement with DEP. The purpose of the RIR is to document the results of the investigation of releases and threats of releases of hazardous substances at the Bishop Tube Site (Site) into groundwater and surface waters. The purpose of the FS is to evaluate potential remedial action alternatives for the Site.

• January 13, 2021: Bishop Tube Remedial Investigation Report, Volume 1 (PDF)
• January 13, 2021: Bishop Tube Remedial Investigation Report, Volume 2 (PDF)

Note: Appendix C & Appendix S (Attachments A & D) have not been uploaded due to their size. They are available to review upon request.

January 13, 2021: Bishop Tube Feasibility Study (PDF)

Note: These documents supersede and replace the June 10, 2019 RI & June 17, 2019 FS document.

On February 22, 2021, DEP notified Roux Associates and JM/W that it considers these documents to be Final and accepted them for future placement in the Administrative Record for the Site.

• February 22, 2021: DEP Letter to Roux accepting the RI and FS documents. (PDF)

DEP tasked its contractor, Groundwater & Environmental Services, Inc. (GES) to prepare a Remedial Alternatives Analysis to supplement Roux’s Feasibility Study. The purpose and primary focus of this report is to identify applicable remedial alternatives to mitigate the potential risks to human health and the environment caused by the presence of contaminants in the unsaturated soils on the property.

• August 5, 2020: Bishop Tube: Final Remedial Alternatives Analysis (PDF)

DEP also tasked GES to prepare a Technology Assessment memorandum for the Site. The purpose and primary focus of this memo is to provide estimated costs and timeframes for four potential remedial alternatives to mitigate the potential risks to human health and the environment, caused by the presence of identified contaminants in the source soils.

• November 10, 2020: Bishop Tube: Technology Assessment (PDF)

Based on its review of the GES 2020 submittals regarding remedial alternatives for addressing soil contamination, Roux performed a limited soil investigation and prepared a memo about that investigation and an addendum to the FS to evaluate a coordinated soil and groundwater cleanup remedial alternative.

• December 12, 2020 Additional Soil Investigation – Building 5 Area (PDF)
• December 18, 2020 Feasibility Study Addendum (PDF)

What's Next (As of March 2021)

• DEP will propose a remedial response action to address the contamination associated with the Site. DEP will incorporate all information it uses in formulating its proposal into the Administrative Record. DEP's responsibility under the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act is to select a remedy that is protective of human health and the environment and complies with all statutory and regulatory requirements.
• The Administrative Record will be open for public comments for 90-days. During the comment period, DEP will hold a public hearing at a location to be determined at a later date.
• East Whiteland Township has been awarded a Technical Evaluation Grant (TEG) pursuant HSCA. The TEG provides up to $50,000 for conducting an independent technical evaluation of a proposed remedial response at a HSCA site.

Correspondence

Please note, this is not a comprehensive list of correspondence related to the Site. Additional related documents may be found in DEP files maintained at Southeast Regional Office. For more information on scheduling a file review, please visit DEP's Public Records page.