DEP Focusing on Groundwater Moving Off Talon Property
MEADVILLE – The Department of Environmental Protection will soon begin the next phase of work to determine the path of contaminated groundwater migrating from the former Talon Plant #7 in Meadville, Crawford County.
Within the next few weeks, DEP contractors will be installing monitoring wells on property across the road from the old Talon property at 1305 South Main St. Wells will be on property where Channellock, Inc. and Little Champs Child Development Center are located.
The former Talon property is now being developed by Vantage Holding Co. LLC and is safe for current and future non-residential use. However, in its previous life as a facility where Talon, Inc. produced zippers from 1932 until 1994, industrial activity released trichloroethylene (TCE) and other pollutants, contaminating the groundwater beneath the property.
After Talon ceased operations in the early 1990s, the property was cleaned up by Coats American, the successor to Talon. In 2001, the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Meadville began site investigations and worked with DEP to complete remediation efforts.
DEP Regional Director Kelly Burch said more recent evaluation has revealed that the groundwater is not remaining on site and the upcoming work will investigate where that groundwater is going.
“The natural direction of groundwater flow is from the Talon site toward French Creek, which might cause the groundwater contamination to move beneath Channellock, located directly west of the Talon property,” said Burch. “According to our most current data, Little Champs Child Development Center is not expected to be effected by pollution from the former Talon plant. However, to be absolutely certain, the department is including the facility in the investigation.”
Once the study is complete, DEP can determine what, if any, additional investigation or remediation is needed.
TCE is commonly used as a solvent for degreasing metal components. Depending on the level of concentration, the effects of TCE vapors can range from headaches and dizziness to nerve, kidney, or liver damage.