chem-solv, inc.

176A N DUPONT HIGHWAY

The Chem-Solv, Inc. site is located on a 1.5-acre property in Cheswold, Delaware. Chem-Solv was a small solvent distillation facility beginning in 1982. The facility recycled waste solvents, but in 1984 an explosion and fire at the site destroyed the facility. Witnesses, at the time, saw fluids flowing off a concrete pad and into the soil. After the fire, authorities evaluated the Columbia Aquifer beneath the site and found high concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), primarly TCE, were found in the aquifer. In 1995, TCE was found in a private water supply well located immediately downhill from the facility, at levels 200 times greater than the drinking water standard. The total population of Cheswold is about 300 residents.