Background/ History
The Missouri Pressed Metals Inc. facility is a 5.1-acre site owned by RNB Real Estate LLC and located at 1200 E. Boonville Rd. in Sedalia, Missouri. Since 1973, Missouri Pressed Metals has operated a small specialty manufacturing company at the site, producing bushings and bearings of sintered metal. These products are used in wide variety of applications, from fractional horsepower electric motors, lawn and garden equipment, to automotive applications and household appliances and tools.
Powdered metals, such as bronze and iron, are mixed in the powder room, molded to shape in the production area and then sintered in the oven room. The parts are then tumbled to remove burrs and fins. Dry wax is added for sizing and they are then sized in the sizing production area. Specialty bearings and 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. In 1995, Missouri Pressed Metals stopped using TCA in the degreasing operation. Trichloroethylene is currently used in its place.
Cleanup Summary
In late 1985-early 1986, the department discovered a disposal area immediately next to the main building. Missouri Pressed Metals 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, Missouri Pressed Metals shipped the material off-site for disposal. Initial investigations confirmed the soil and groundwater were contaminated with 1,1,1-TCA and related compounds. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources designated this area as a regulated hazardous waste land disposal unit. In 1995, Missouri Pressed Metals 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 Missouri Pressed Metals' closure certification for the unit in 1997; however, Missouri Pressed Metals 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.
Missouri Pressed Metals currently is conducting post-closure and corrective action activities at the site under a department-issued Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Facility Part 1 Permit, effective March 20, 2015. The Part 1 Permit was originally issued with a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-issued Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments Part 2 Permit in 1998. EPA decided not to reissue the Part 2 Permit in 2015, since EPA had no site-specific conditions for the facility, beyond those contained in the Part 1 Permit, and Missouri is fully authorized for all post-closure and corrective action activities at the facility. The Part 1 Permit requires Missouri Pressed Metals 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.
