BASF Corp. Hannibal Plant

Background/ History

The 1,800-acre BASF Corp. site, known as the BASF Hannibal Plant, is located at 3150 Highway JJ, between Palmyra and Hannibal. The American Cyanamid Co., now known as Wyeth Holding Corp., purchased the property in 1965, and manufactured fertilizer products, which included nitric acid. In 1971, 12 acres in the north-central part of the facility were leased to Alpharma who manufactured animal feed intermediates. American Cyanamid began manufacturing insecticides and herbicides in 1977. BASF Corp. purchased the facility from American Cyanamid in 2000, and is the current owner and operator; however, Wyeth Holdings Corp. retains financial responsibility for certain historical environmental matters.

BASF is currently operating as an agricultural chemical manufacturing facility under two hazardous waste permits, one issued by the department and one issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The department issued the Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Facility Part I Permit, effective April 25, 1990. EPA issued the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments Part II Permit, effective May 25, 1990. These permits allow BASF to store and incinerate both off-specification or expired product returned through their product stewardship program and waste created during the production processes. The BASF Corp. currently operates four hazardous waste incinerators and two hazardous waste container storage areas.

Cleanup Summary

According to applicable state and federal hazardous waste laws and regulations, all hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facilities are required to investigate and clean up releases of hazardous waste and hazardous constituents to the environment at their facility resulting from present and past hazardous waste handling practices. Investigations concluded that there is groundwater and soil contamination at the site. The groundwater contamination consists of 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,1-dichloroethylene, benzene, monochlorobenzene, tetrachloroethene, trichloroethylene, toluene and vinyl chloride. 

BASF is conducting corrective action activities under the same two hazardous waste permits the facility is operating under. BASF is currently performing a Corrective Measures Study to identify and evaluate possible remedial alternatives for the soil and groundwater contamination. A groundwater pump and treatment system is currently in operation at the site. To ensure that contamination is not migrating off the BASF Corp. property, bi-annual groundwater monitoring and analysis are conducted. When the study is complete, the department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will review the possible remedial measures and select the best remedy given site-specific considerations.