04/12/2025
Documented toxic releases from the Circleville DuPont plant during the 1980s.
Vinylidene Chloride (VDC) Leak – Underground Line
Date detected: May 4, 1981 (reported May 8, 1981, Spill #81-05-65-0898)
Quantity: ~16,000 gallons of VDC
Location: Underground VDC supply line at the production plant, adjacent to a concrete pad where the line enters the plantPathway/impact: Leaked over several months into soil and groundwater; VDC detected in recovery well DB-3 for years (1981–1987) at concentrations up to 8,500 ppb.
Methanol Spill – Overfilled Tank Car
Date: August 25, 1983 (Spill #83-08-65-2423)
Quantity: ~100 gallons of methanol
Location: Ground surface adjacent to a railroad spur at the site
Pathway/impact: Most evaporated; remaining methanol on the ground was “wetted down” (i.e., potentially driven into soil).
Acetone Spill – Failed Pump Seal
Date: January 13–14, 1985 (Spill #85-01-65-0113)
Quantity: 18,000 pounds (~2,800 gallons) of acetone
Location: Ground surface at the polymer production plant
Fate/cleanup:
~1,000 gallons recovered
~1,650 gallons evaporated
~150 gallons infiltrated soil or entered a retention pond
~78 tons of contaminated soil removed to 5–7 feet deep, but residual acetone remained at ~100–200 ppm in soil.
Use of Unpermitted Aeration Lagoons / Sludge Drying Bed for Contaminated Groundwater
Timeframe: Mid-1980s (identified Sept. 12, 1986; orders issued June 29, 1987)
Waste involved: VDC-contaminated groundwater from recovery wells DB-2 and DB-3 (200 gpm and 600 gpm respectively)
Units: Two 1.5-acre aeration lagoons and a sludge drying bed (all RCRA “surface impoundments”) used without permits
Pathway/impact: Volatilization/evaporation treatment of hazardous constituents; treated water bypassed lagoons to storm sewer and then to the Scioto River. Ordered to be managed as hazardous waste surface impoundments.
Fuel Oil Spill – Overfilled #2 Fuel Oil Tank
Date: May 13, 1986 (Spill #86-05-65-1580)
Quantity: ~164 gallons of #2 fuel oil
Location: Area near the aeration lagoons
Pathway/impact: Some oil recovered; an oil sheen was visible along the bank of the Scioto River at the site.
Pyridine/Acetone Mixture Spill – Leaking Pump
Date: Reported February 7, 1988 (Spill #88-02-65-0375)
Quantity: ~570 gallons of pyridine/acetone mixture
Location: Drainage ditches near the SP Resin tank farm
Fate/cleanup:
~270 tons of contaminated soil removed to a permitted hazardous waste facility
Remaining soils still contained 9,650 ppm pyridine and 6,902 ppm acetone
Groundwater monitoring:
Pyridine in well SPMW-1: 31.1 mg/L (April 21, 1988), 25 mg/L (May 19–20, 1988), 0.487 mg/L (Oct. 7, 1988)
Pyridine in SPMW-3: 0.078 mg/L (May 19–20, 1988).
