By the end of Saturday 3/18 EPA and its response contractors had completed its inventory, and hazard classification of over 450 containers of hazardous collected from Warehouses A and B and from outside facility buildings. The containers were staged in preparation for offsite disposal. Asbestos sampling was completed and results indicated the presence of asbestos in several sources including large chunks of pipe wrap found discarded throughout Warehouse B and in approximately 5 cubic yards of sacks of what appeared to be demolition debris. These materials were also consolidated and staged for off-site disposal. EPA consolidated approximately 2,500 of discarded tall oil from drums and totes (several of them found leaking) and approximately 18 cubic yards of tall oil sludge and prepared this material for off-site disposal. EPA identified approximately 7,000 gallons of glycerin crude (a byproduct of biodiesel production) and began arranging for the off-site recycling of this material. An inventory of Aboveground Storage Tanks (ASTs) identified 50 visible ASTs (39 with no secondary containment) with a combined storage capacity of over 1,000,000 gallons. Although the assessment is expected to be completed by Tuesday 3/21, once the largest tanks can be accessed, currently at least 12,000 gallons of what is believed to be pumpable (i.e. recoverable) tall oil has been discovered in tanks outside the secondary containment areas.
Assessment activities and sampling for the profiling of the various waste streams identified on site will continue into the early part of the coming week. It is expected that shipment of identified waste for off-site disposal or recycling will begin in the latter half of the coming week.