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Harshaw Site

Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program

Buffalo District
Published Dec. 11, 2023
Updated: Dec. 11, 2023

The former Harshaw Chemical Company, located at 1000 Harvard Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, was contracted by the Manhattan Engineer District and later the Atomic Energy Commission to support the Nation’s early atomic weapons program. From 1944 to 1959, various forms of uranium were processed at the Harshaw Site and sent to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, for further processing. Based on a request from the State of Ohio and the site owners, the Department of Energy determined that this site should be reviewed for possible inclusion in the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) and on June 3, 1999, referred this action to the Corps of Engineers.

Project Status

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.

These remedies involve complete excavation of FUSRAP-impacted soils exceeding their respective applicable or relevant and appropriate requirement-based remediation goals, transportation and off-site disposal of soils, confirmatory sampling, and site restoration. All private utilities encountered during the execution of the selected remedy for OU-1 will be decommissioned and sealed to prevent the migration of residual uranium in groundwater.  Public utilities encountered in OU-1 will be left in place and backfilled with amended material to minimize the migration of groundwater and uranium transport along the utility trenching. Both alternatives will be protective of human health and the environment, comply with applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements, are cost effective, and use permanent solutions and alternative treatment technologies or resource recovery technologies to the maximum extent practicable.

The next step for the Harshaw Site in the CERCLA process is remedial design/remedial action. In 2022 the Buffalo District will prepare a contract for the cleanup. If sufficient funds are available in the fiscal year 2022 funding bill, the Buffalo District will award the contract. A 2022 contract award would allow the cleanup to begin in 2023.

Community Involvement

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District welcomes your input at any time. Our goal is to offer timely and meaningful opportunities for public input to our projects and to promote the dissemination of project information to the community. Public involvement activities complement the Corps' mission to address environmental contamination at the Harshaw Site from past Manhattan Engineer District and Atomic Energy Commission activities.

News from the Corps

News from the Corps emails are sent regularly when we have new information regarding the Harshaw FUSRAP site. To receive News from the Corps, please email us at: fusrap@usace.army.mil and ask to be added to our list.


Contact
FUSRAP Office
1-800-833-6390 *4
fusrap@usace.army.mil
478 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202
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