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NPL Site Narrative for Peters Cartridge Factory
PETERS CARTRIDGE FACTORY
Kings Mills, Ohio
Federal Register Notice: April 30, 2003The Peters Cartridge Factory formerly operated on a 10-acre parcel of land at 1415 Grandin Road, on the south side of the Little Miami River in Warren County, Ohio. The facility is bordered by a U.S. military reservation (ordnance plant) to the southwest, the Little Miami Scenic Trail and the Little Miami River to the north and west, and rural areas to the east and south.
The Peters Cartridge Factory operated as a manufacturer of semi-smokeless cartridge ammunition, including shotgun shells and rifle and pistol cartridges. The company expanded north across Grandin Road during World War I due to increased demand for ammunition from the European Powers and the United States. After the war, the frame buildings erected to keep up with the war demands were demolished, and the company was consolidated back to its original buildings at the present site location. Remington Arms purchased Peters Cartridge Factory in 1934, and continued to manufacture rifle and shotgun ammunition until near the end of World War II. In 1944, the facility was closed as part of a consolidation by Remington. The Columbia Records division of RCA occupied the facility from 1944 to 1948, mixing plastic materials and manufacturing phonograph record disks. Seagrams Distillers used the facility as a bonded warehouse during the 1950s. A small cabinet company used a portion of the facility around the 1970s. In 1979, the facility was purchased by Landmark Renaissance Corporation and is currently known as the Kings Mills Technical Center. LensCrafters leased the property from January 1987 to December 1991. LensCrafters used chemicals such as Freon 113, surfactants, phosphoric acid, n-hexane, paints, tints, and dyes in the manufacture of eyeglass lenses and frames. Several other companies owned or leased the present facility, but they did not use chemicals in their operations.
In 1987 as part of an environmental assessment for the Kings Mills Technical Center, lead contamination was discovered at the site. On-site soils were sampled at depths of 1, 4, 8, and 12 feet, and lead was found at concentrations reaching 33,500 parts per million (ppm) at a depth of 4 feet. Fill materials including boiler ash and slag were found buried in layers from 7 to 12 feet thick on the property. Monitoring wells were installed on site in December 1987 and were sampled and analyzed for lead and total organic content. Lead was detected in well W-3 at 0.52 milligrams per liter (mg/l), well above the maximum contaminant level of 0.015 mg/l. In 1993, the facility was paved to prevent direct contact with lead contaminated soil.
An Expanded Site Inspection was conducted on May 4, 5, and 11th, 1999 by the Ohio EPA. Soil, sediment, ground water, and fish tissue samples were collected. Observed releases to ground water and to the Little Miami River were documented. The Little Miami River, which is threatened by contamination from the site, is a fishery and a State and National Scenic River. Several municipal drinking water wells are within four miles of the site.
For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on the Internet at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaq.html or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.