Dye Specialties Incorporated, located at 407 Ege Avenue in Jersey City, NJ, was a manufacturer of aniline based dyes. The facility operated from the late 1920’s until July of 2003. The site is made up of 9 buildings including the main process building, warehouse, laboratory, pilot plant and short term chemical storage building. It is estimated that there are over 1000 drums, 40 process vessels, 10 bulk storage tanks and more than 1000 laboratory containers at the facility.
On September 24, 2003, the Jersey City Fire department responded to an alarm in the main process building. Unable to contact any facility personnel, the fire department forced entry into the building discovering some of the drums and tanks. Entry into other parts of the facility revealed the presence of more drums and evidence of spilled material. EPA responded to the scene on September 25, 2003, to assess the site. A Removal Action was initiated the same day.
