Remediation Contract For Former Harshaw Chemical Company Awarded

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District awarded a $13.4M contract on December 20 to Enviro-Fix Solutions, LLC for the remedial action of Operable Units (OU) 1 and 2 of the Former Harshaw Chemical Company Site, as part of the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP).

The contract includes complete removal of contaminated FUSRAP-related soil and debris to be disposed at an approved off-site facility and leaves the site protective of human health and the environment.

“Cleaning up the former Harshaw Chemical Site is an important step in the ongoing environmental restoration of Northeast Ohio, which is so vital to our economic and public health. This announcement is good news for our community, and I look forward to continued work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other federal agencies to advance environmental justice and restoration in Northeast Ohio,” said Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11).

“Our highly skilled FUSRAP team is ready to safely remediate the former Harshaw Chemical Company site,” said Lt. Col. Colby Krug, USACE Buffalo District commander. “During the process, we are committed to providing opportunities for open two-way dialog concerning the environmental remediation and restoration activities at the site.”

Remedial action is set to begin in summer/fall 2024 and will include sampling and laboratory analyses; water and wastewater management; industrial hygiene/health monitoring; implementation of contamination control measures; excavation, transportation and off-site disposal of contaminated materials; confirmation sampling and final status surveys of remediated areas; and restoration of excavated areas.

The safety of the public and workers is USACE’s number one priority through this process. USACE will continue to communicate as its team prepares the site, work begins, and monitoring activates lead to closeout activities.

A report and information regarding review process and findings is available on the project website (https://www.lrb.usace.army.mil/Missions/HTRW/FUSRAP/Harshaw-Site/) in the “Report and News” section.

Harshaw site background:
The Former Harshaw Chemical Company Site is a 55-acre property bordered by the Cuyahoga River and Big Creek, located three miles south of downtown Cleveland in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. The site was initially purchased by the Harshaw, Fuller & Goodwin Company in 1905; the company developed the property to manufacture chemical solvents, metal salts, fluorides, hydrofluoric acids, and other chemical products for commercial use. The early Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) contracted the Harshaw Chemical Company to process uranium products between 1942 and 1954. The uranium processing operations were conducted in Building G-1. Site ownership changed several times after the completion of government-contracted operations. In 2006, BASF purchased the site, except for Building G-1, which remained owned and operated by the Chevron/Kaiser Partnership (now BGD Company). USACE dismantled former Building G-1 from December 2014 to January 2015 to facilitate further groundwater investigations beneath the building slab. Concurrently, the property owner removed several other site buildings and stormwater features.

The record of decision for the site, which was signed in 2021, outlines the selected remedies to address FUSRAP-related soil contamination at the Harshaw Site for OU-1 and OU-2. The selected remedy for OU-1 is Complete Excavation and Off-Site Disposal using industrial remediation goals based on an industrial reasonable future land use. The selected remedy for OU-2 is Complete Excavation and Off-Site Disposal using residential remediation goals based on a residential reasonable future land use.