The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) would like to provide you with an update regarding the Bishop Tube HSCA Site (the Site), located in East Whiteland Township, Chester County.
- On July 15, 2026, DEP accepted the Data Gap Pre-Design Investigation Report Volume 1: Soil, prepared by DEP’s contractor, Groundwater & Environmental Services, Inc (GES). The purpose of the data gap pre-design investigation was to conduct additional Site soils investigation and analysis, including an evaluation of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), fluoride, and completion of a limited background soil investigation for select inorganics, including total metals, fluoride, and PFAS.
GES completed the soil investigation activities between December 2025 and March 2026. In total, 201 soil samples were collected from 90 soil boring locations. The results of the analyses of those soil samples revealed:
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- Fluoride was not detected in those samples at concentrations above the applicable PA Act 2 Residential standard.
- PFAS compounds were not detected in those samples at concentrations above the current or proposed PA Act 2 Residential Standard.
- Arsenic, cobalt, and manganese in some of those samples exceeded PA Act 2 Residential standard in one location in the limited background soil investigation area; however, all other metals were detected in those samples were at concentrations below the PA Act 2 Residential standards.
The Volume 1 report makes several recommendations, based on GES’s conclusions, which DEP will adopt during response action implementation.
- Volume 2: Groundwater of the Pre-Design Investigation Report, which will include the results of all data gap pre-design investigation monitoring well and surface water sampling, is pending and is expected to be completed by September 2026.
- On March 14, 2026, DEP published notice of the proposed Consent Decree and the proposed Qualified Settlement Fund Agreement in the PA Bulletin and the Daily Local News. DEP accepted public comments through May 14, 2026. DEP is in the process of compiling all comments received and plans to publish a Response to Comments document in September. Thank you to everyone who submitted comments.
Thank you for your continued interest in DEP’s work at the Bishop Tube HSCA Site. DEP will continue to send “Community Updates” via email when new information on the Site becomes available.
DEP’s website for the Site: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dep/dep-regions/southeast-regional-office/bishop-tube
On May 13, the East Whiteland Board of Supervisors voted to grant an extension of decision on the development on the Bishop Tube property. If you are a resident of East Whiteland Township, voice your opinion on development on this site by contacting the supervisors directly:
| Lambert, Scott | Supervisor | slambert@eastwhiteland.org | 610-648-0600 |
| Orlow, Richard | Supervisor | rorlow@eastwhiteland.org | 610-648-0600 |
| Fixler, Peter | Supervisor | Peter Fixler | 610-648-0600 |
Sign the petition urging corporations to take responsibility for the open space preservation and clean-up of the toxic Bishop Tube site
Stand with residents and urge Johnson Matthey Inc. and Whittaker Corporation to take responsibility for the toxic cleanup and protection of nature that the law and morality dictate.
Set back from easy access or view, next to the residents of General Warren Village and upstream from those who live along Little Valley Creek, sits Bishop Tube. Bishop Tube is an old, dilapidated industrial site oozing toxins, including cancer-causing TCE, heavy metals and more, which saturate the site’s soil and groundwater. Over the decades, as those responsible for addressing the site’s contamination have sought to evade their moral and/or legal obligations, nature has been overtaking the site with much-needed trees, shrubs, wild plants, and wildlife that need a place to go in this quickly urbanizing community.
The wealthy corporations responsible for cleaning up the toxic contamination—including Johnson Matthey Inc. and Whittaker Corporation—are investing in lawyers to (as far as we can see) try to minimize their cleanup obligations rather than investing these funds in efforts to, as quickly as possible, clean up the toxic contamination that has been spreading for more than 30 years into nearby environments and communities. Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection—until threatened with legal action— had spent years helping a local developer, Constitution Drive Partners, secure a sweetheart deal that would allow construction of nearly 100 residential homes on the site despite its toxic condition.
We need your help to stop the insanity.
Please stand with impacted communities who have suffered health harms, the ever-present fear of ongoing toxic exposure, and the very real concern that new families will suffer if residential development of the site is allowed.
Help us call on Johnson Matthey Inc. and Whittaker Corporation to take meaningful, protective action. Rather than invest in lawyers, they should invest these funds in clean-up efforts and should contribute the money needed for the community to purchase and protect the Bishop Tube site as public, natural, open space.
Sign and share this petition now. Your signature, along with thousands of others, will send a powerful message to the responsible corporations: they should do right by the people of General Warren Village and surrounding communities who have been so deeply harmed by the toxins polluting this site. They should ensure the site is preserved as clean, green, natural open space beneficial to people and nature.
While you’re at it, in just 2 clicks, send a tweet to urge the companies to put up the money to protect the site as clean & natural open space. Clicking this link will allow you to send just the right tweet: https://ctt.ec/1VAqM
The toxic Bishop Tube site has been allowed to fester for far too long, damaging people and nature. It’s time for full clean up and protection as natural, open space. It’s time for Johnson Matthey Inc. and Whittaker Corporation to make it right but not just fulfilling their legal cleanup obligation but ensure this last oasis of nature is protected as green open space for present and future generations.
Be sure to also sign the Petition if you haven’t yet:
Other steps you can take
Click here for details and steps you can take.