Background/ History
The Missouri Pressed Metals, Inc. (MPM) facility, owned by RNB Real Estate LLC, is an 8.4-acre site located at 1200 E. Boonville Rd. in Sedalia. MPM, which has been in operation since 1973, is a specialty manufacturing company that produces bushings and bearings of sintered metal used in automobile parts, electric motors, air conditioners, and fans. Raw materials, including powdered bronze and iron, are mixed in the powder room, molded in the production area and then sintered in the oven room. Specialty bearings/bushings are impregnated with oil in the tumbling room and then cleaned in an ultrasonic vapor degreaser. Until 1990, raw 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA) used in the vapor degreaser was stored in bulk storage tanks. MPM stopped using TCA in the degreasing operation in 1995 and currently uses trichloroethylene in its place
Cleanup Summary
In late 1985-early 1986, the department discovered a disposal area immediately next to the main building. MPM representatives stated that spent 1,1,1-TCA/waste oil was used as a herbicide along the east and north sides of the building for weed control between 1973 and 1985. After 1985, MPM shipped the material off-site for disposal. Initial investigations confirmed the soil and groundwater were contaminated with 1,1,1-TCA and related compounds. This area was designated by the department as a regulated hazardous waste land disposal unit. In 1995, MPM installed a groundwater extraction system in order to capture and treat the contaminated groundwater. A Deed Notice, signed by the Pettis County Recorder of Deeds in 1996, was placed on the property in order to inform potential future buyers of the property that the property was used to manage hazardous waste. The department accepted MPM’s closure certification for the unit in 1997; however, MPM is subject to the permitting requirements of the Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Law and federal Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments for post-closure care because hazardous waste remained in place after closure.
MPM is conducting post-closure and corrective action activities under two hazardous waste permits, one issued by the department and one issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), both effective Sept. 28, 1998. The department issued the Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Facility Part I Permit. EPA issued the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments Part II Permit. The permits require MPM to implement the approved final remedy for groundwater contamination, which includes operating the groundwater extraction system and sample the groundwater, and inspect and maintain the cap on the former land disposal unit.
