Groundwater Treatment Begins At Doylestown Superfund Site

DOYLESTOWN, PA — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has begun construction of a groundwater treatment plant to begin cleaning up contaminated groundwater at the Chem Fab Superfund site in Doylestown.

Initial work will involve surveying, utility work and temporary fencing installation, according to Doylestown Borough officials. Following that, heavy equipment such as dump trucks, excavators, dozers and tractor trailers will begin arriving at the site. Some tree clearing may be required.

From the mid-1960s through the late 1970s, Chem Fab, Inc. operated an electroplating and metal etching facility at 400 N. Broad St., where it also stored and disposed of processing chemicals on-site, according to the EPA.

Groundwater underneath the site is contaminated with volatile chemicals, which were later found in two municipal wells and several residential wells near the site. The site was added to the EPA's Superfund program in 2008, making it eligible for federal cleanup funding.

Construction will occur from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. Delivery route trucks delivering equipment and construction materials are expected to travel south along North Broad Street and turn right onto the site.

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