The Hassan Barrel Company site is located at 1605 Summer Street in Ft. Wayne, Allen County, Indiana. The site occupies approximately 7 acres in a primarily residential area. The site is bordered by the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks to the north, residential property to the east, Reynolds Street and residential properties to the south, and a wooded area and abandoned industrial facility to the west. The geographic coordinates for the site are latitude 41° 04' 15" north and longitude 85° 06' 23" west.
The HBC site began drum recycling operations in 1954. In July 2003, the current owner, Mr. Allen Hersch, closed the doors to the site, locked the gate to the property, and walked away from the site. On October 6, 2004, Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) came onsite to collect their gas meters due to nonpayment. After entering the property, NIPSCO observed numerous drums stacked on top of each other around the property. After seeing the numerous drums, NIPSCO notified Allen County officials of what their personnel had observed while at the site. Allen County notified the State of Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) which in turn notified the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA).
