The Solid State Circuits Inc. site is an area of trichloroethylene (TCE), also referred to as trichloroethene, contamination originating from a former printed circuit board manufacturing facility. The exact volume of TCE released, and how the releases occurred at the site are not known; however, sampling data indicate that TCE entered the subsurface at the facility through sumps and floor drains located in the building’s basement. After traveling downward through 10-15 feet of clay soil, the TCE traveled horizontally within the upper portion of the bedrock surface, which has fractures and karst features such as underground openings, losing streams, and springs (common geologic features in southwest Missouri and in the Republic area).
It is believed that an old well with a deteriorated casing in the building’s basement allowed TCE to travel downward several hundred feet into the deeper drinking water aquifer where Republic's City Well #1 pulled it in. EPA plugged this basement well shortly after discovering it in 1985. Please review the department's Solid State Circuits Inc. Site Sheet - PUB2970 for more details about the site investigation and cleanup.
Additional Information
- Solid State Circuits Inc. Site Sheet - PUB2970
- Solid State Circuits Inc. Site - EPA
- A Citizen’s Guide to Vapor Intrusion Investigation - PUB3009
- Facts About Vapor Intrusion - Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services