EPA Mid-Atlantic Region Investigates Contamination and Cleanup at DuPont Spruance Superfund Site

EPA Mid-Atlantic Region Investigates Contamination and Cleanup at DuPont Spruance Superfund Site

March 10, 2026

PHILADELPHIA - On March 10, 2026, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), DuPont, and Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VADEQ) will meet to begin the Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study using a Superfund Alternative approachto address contamination at the DuPont Spruance Plant in Richmond, Virginia.

The Remedial Investigation collects site information such as the type and extent of waste present and how it might affect people and the environment. The Feasibility Study explores and compares different cleanup options. This step-by-step process focuses efforts on the right information and helps ensure high-quality results that protect public health and the environment.

"The Superfund Alternative approach is a powerful process that expedites moving a site through the cleanup in a way that lets the responsible party clean up with important EPA oversight," said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Amy Van Blarcom-Lackey. "This approach saves time and resources while ensuring that the same quality and standards of environmental protection are upheld that apply to sites listed on the National Priorities List."

The Superfund Alternative approach uses the same investigation and cleanup process and standards that are used for sites listed on the National Priorities List ("NPL"). The approach is an alternative to listing a site on the NPL; it is not an alternative to the Superfund process. The approach can save time and resources associated with listing a site on the NPL. If a party enters into a Superfund Alternative approach agreement with EPA, there is no need for EPA to list the site on the NPL.

Under the terms of the agreement, DuPont will perform the additional actions with EPA oversight:

• Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study to determine the nature and extent of contamination at the site and explore possible cleanup options.

• Support Community Involvement by participating in public meetings and providing information for the development of outreach materials
• Removal and Emergency Actions, if necessary, to address any imminent and substantial threat to human health or the environment should they be identified during any part of the process.

Under the Administrative Order on Consent, all aspects of the work to be performed are being funded by DuPont and subject to EPA's approval. Remedial actions will be selected by EPA, in consultation and close coordination with VADEQ.

Site Background

The DuPont Spruance Facility is the largest DuPont manufacturing facility in the world. It employs more than 2,000 people and is one of the largest employers in Chesterfield County. The site has operated continuously since 1929 as a manufacturing plant for textile fibers and sheet products. Manufactured products also included Kevlar®, Nomex®, nylon, Mylar®, Tyvek®, and Zytel®.

The site spans about 525 acres. Other industrial properties are to the north and south of the site; beyond these, residential properties are generally in all directions. There is farmland to the east, and the James River borders a portion of the site to the west. The DuPont Spruance Plant is located at 5401 Jefferson Davis Highway, Richmond, Virginia.

Past groundwater sampling from monitoring wells located on and near the facility showed the presence of chemicals such as chloroform, vinyl chloride, carbon tetrachloride, tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene, hexamethylphosphoramide (HMPA), trichlorofluoromethane (TCFM), and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).

Groundwater is not used on the site for drinking water, and no downgradient users of off-site groundwater exist between the site boundary and the James River.

For more information, visit: www.epa.gov/superfund/dupontspruance