Susan Shewcyzk (ODEQ HAZ WASTE Salem), Dan Laboto (ODEQ HazWaste Eugene), and Dan Heister (USEPA/FOSC) arrived at 37680 Kimball Rd in Dexter OR 97431 at approximately 945 hrs on 2/4/15. The property is approximately 19 miles due east of Eugene. There we met the property owner at the lower gate of the 26 acre property. She (the property owner) explained that she had had a five year relationship with the man who used to own the property. The relationship ended in 2012 but she now owned the property. The man recently passed away (12/14/14 of Non-Hotchkins Lymphoma) and her intention was to sell the property. Shewcyzk explained that a person had contacted OR Emergency Response System (OERS) claiming that a cache of chemicals related to the Springfield Scientific Removal of 2006 could be found on the property.
The property owner said that the man who occupied the property, who had been her partner, lived on the property and collected scrap and anything that he could obtain for free. She said that we were welcome to inspect the property. We did and she accompanied us. We made our way around the property and observed a lot of metal scrap on the lower section of the property. We made our way up a gravel road and at the top of the hill where we found a large quantity of chemical containers ranging from 1 to 50 gallons. We estimated that there are approximately 1000 containers in this area. Conditions range from intact to leaking. Many had unreadable labels. There are strong acids and bases as well as numerous chemical formulations. The containers appear to have been segregated in a basic fashion to avoid mixtures of incompatibles but the area is still very unstable. In some areas leaking containers have killed all vegetation in close proximity, including blackberry vines. The containers in an RV on the property were not closely inspected as we did not have the proper PPE to enter safely, but we did note a strong chemical odor coming from it.
We walked back to our cars and explained tothe property owner the gravity of the situation and that something needed to be done. Shewcyzk said that she would discuss the situation with her management and get back to the property owner as soon as possible. Shewcyzk also explained that there was a good possibility that the USEPA could become involved.
We left the property at approximately 1130 hrs. I had lunch with Shewcyzk and Laboto and explained EPA’s position on this site. I said that EPA was very willing to assist ODEQ if they wanted to hand the site off but that due to the conditions at the site something needed to be decided on a “fast track”. On 2/9/15 ODEQ formally referred the site to EPA Emergency Responce Unit.
