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Notices	Posted	Category
6/18/02	6/19/2002
All field activities have been completed. The contractor is now calclating monies received for the recycled metals found on site and will be putting the money back into their D.O. shortly. There are no planned removal actions. The nexts steps are to meet with the appropriate USEPA Brownfields personnel and the Site Assessment Manager to discuss stipulations if any for returning the site to the city for use.
5/20/02	5/21/2002
All site activities have been completed. The City of Johnstown will take possession of the site pending a final inspection on 6/11/02. The site will be finalized and a final POLREP will be issued upon reciept of all "certificates of destruction" of the materials sent to the appropriate disposal facilities.
5/5/02	5/7/2002
The site was inactive from 4/10 to 4/29. There were no remaining activities that could be scheduled during that period. The site is now demobilizing. During the week of 4/29/02 all of the remaining drums were transferred to appropriate disposal facilities. The office/command post trailer has been removed. The security fence is being completed as necessary, and should be completed by Friday, 5/10/02. With the exception of the security fence which is in progress, Phase 1 of the project has been completed. Phase 1, was designed to stabilize the surface of the site, remove immediate chemical and biological hazards to the community and sample subsurface media. The removal of all of the surface structures was not in the original plan. It had been determined that due to the chemical and biological contamination and damage to these structures it was necessary remove said buildings and dispose of the debris as necessary. The EPA has not found it necessary at this time to remove the remaining foundations, concrete floor slabs or in-ground concrete tanks. All of these remaining structures have been thoroughly decontaminated and the tanks have been backfilled with clean soil. The site is prone to minor surface flooding. Since the surface structures have been thoroughly cleaned the contamination of stormwater runoff been determined to not be an issue, and berms were built to prevent offsite stormwater from collecting onsite. Any future EPA involvement in the project has yet to be determined.
4/4/02	4/4/2002
The shipping of processed mulch and unprocessed debris to the Fulton County landfill has been completed. There were 3 trucks shipped with unprocessed debris totaling 55.23 tons on April 01, to complete the removal. On April 1, a contracted surveyor re-established the proper property lines. The previous owners of the property appeared to be somewhat liberal with the boundries they chose to use for their facility. On April 3, the Johnstown City engineer and the county wastewater treatment facility manager arrived at the site to discuss stormwater run off at the site. All parties agreed that a dirt berm was necessary to reroute off-site stormwater from the site. The berm will run parallel to North Perry Street starting at East Fulton Street and end at the creek (Johnstown is permitted to allow street storm run-off to drain into creek). The city provided the necessary materials for this project. It has been determined that approximately 75% of the site's stormwater problem comes from the west and enters the site via East Fulton Street. All the water coming to the berm will be from street side not from the site. The City Engineer, also completed a dye test of the storm drains on the site to determine the final fate of the site stormwater. The manager from the wastewater treatment facility believed that run-off from the site was causing the recent spikes to the county's wastewater facility system. The spikes were causing the facility to exceed their permitted volumes. The results of the dye test, revealed the run-off was going to outfalls directly to the creek and none to the county's wastewater treatment facility. Therefore, the spikes at the county facility were not from this site. The ERRS contractor is completing the remaining portions of the perimeter fence in preparation for closing the site. The city of Johnstown Department of Public Works is providing fence for the North Perry Street side of the property which will enclose the berm. The ERRS contractor, continues to surface clean the remaining concrete floor slabs. They will finish cutting any protruding re-bar from remaining slabs and tapering any remaining concrete slabs with soil to eliminate sharp drop-offs and trip/fall hazards. The planned removal actions from April 6-28 are: the ERRS work crews will be demobilized. The current plan is to remobilize the site on April 29, 2002. A fence contractor will be on site to complete the security fence adjecent the bordering the residences. The removal of all the drums will also be acomplished at the site this week. There is a planned meeting within EPA the week of April 15. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss future EPA actions at the site including the suburface run-off to the creek. The current projected completion date for this pase is May 20, 2002 The next Steps will be determined at the mid-April meeting.
3/22/02	3/21/2002
During the period March 16 to March 22: The large non-PCB transformer was shipped off-site by one of the trucking contractors. The transformer was loaded onto a flatbed trailer by the ERRS contractor and taken for recycle. Tank 15 has been completely filled with crushed brick and concrete with a foot of soil on the top. Tank 16 is approximately 90% full with the same material. The crushed brick and concrete was placed in the bottom of these tanks to allow gravity flow to sewer. The shipping of processed mulch and unprocessed debris to the Fulton County landfill continues. There were 60 trucks shipped with unprocessed debris totaling 813 tons. There were also 4 trucks of processed mulch shipped totaling 39 tons. This completes the processed mulch shipping. The shipping of scrap steel has resumed. There were 10 trucks loads of junk steel weighing approximately 60 tons. There was also one truck load of structural steel weighing approximately 12 tons. The empty drums inside the storage building have been destroyed and will be shipped to the landfill. The wall along the north side of the cow beaming building was ramped using crushed brick, concrete and dirt. The creek side wall of the Finishing Operations building was also ramped with this same material. This eliminates the potential for falls. The ERRS contractor has begun erecting the remaining portions of the perimeter fence in preparation for closing the site. New sections of fence are being installed where necessary. Any repairs to the existing fence are also being addressed. All of the remaining steel tanks on site have been torch cut and await shipping to the scrap yard.
3/15/02	3/15/2002
During the period March 11 to March 15 : The wood chipping operation was completed and the chipping unit left the site. The remaining piles will be shipped as general debris after the large pieces of steel and concrete are removed. The large pieces of concrete are crushed to use as backfill and the rebar is stored with the scrap steel. Delivery of the backfill soil from Gloversville continued during this period. Tanks 15 and 16 continue to receive this backfill. Tank 16 was filled approximately 75% with crushed concrete and backfill. The shipping of processed mulch and unprocessed debris to the Fulton County landfill continues. There were 43 trucks shipped with unprocessed debris totaling 532 tons. There were also 24 trucks of processed mulch shipped totaling 194 tons. This completes the processed mulch shipping. The old Crescendoe Road boiler was completely dismantled and staged with the scrap steel. All of the bagged PPE stored in the drum storage building was removed and was shipped to the Fulton county Landfill. The fluid in the transformers stored in the drum storage building was pumped into 55 gallon drums for proper disposal. A street sweeper was brought on site and the cleaning of the concrete pads is underway.
3/8/02	3/8/2002
During the period March 1 to March 8 : Delivery of the backfill soil from Gloversville continued during this period. Tanks 1 - 8 have been backfilled to grade and tanks 15 and 16 continue to receive the backfill. The shipping of mulch to the Fulton County landfill continues. There were 104 trucks shipped with unprocessed debris totaling 843 tons. There were also 190 trucks of processed mulch shipped totaling 1,542 tons The torch cutting of the remaining tanks on site continued during this period. The tank steel will be transported off-site as scrap. The old Crescendoe Road boiler continued to be torch cut during this period. The removal of the aluminum siding from the drum storage building began. The siding is to be given to the Johnstown Police Department to enclose their shooting range.
3/1/02	3/1/2002
During the period February 25 to March 1 : The wood chipping contractor returned from vacation and resumed operations on the 27th. We resumed shipping steel during this period. Beginning on the 25th we shipped eleven loads of junk steel weighing approximately 65 tons. The analytical data for the soil at the new supermarket construction in Gloversville came back and it was approved by NYDEC. Delivery of the backfill begins today. The shipping of mulch to the Fulton County landfill began on the 27th. There were 24 trucks shipped and that was approximately 225 tons. The torch cutting of the remaining tanks on site began during this period. The tank steel will be transported off-site as scrap.
2/22/02	2/22/2002
During the period February 14 to 22 : The wood chipping continues and to date we have approximately 14,000 cubic yards of stockpiled mulch. We resumed shipping steel during this period. Beginning on the 18th we shipped ten loads of junk steel weighing in at approximately 60 tons. The chipping contractor is on vacation this week and will not return until the 25th. The drums in the drum storage building were bulked and segregated in preparation for off-site disposal. The bottom of the #6 fuel oil tank was cleaned out and will be shipped off as plate steel. Soil from a new super market construction site was made available to us free for use as backfill. Samples were taken at this location to determine if will be suitable for us. There is approximately 4,000 cubic yards of soil available to us for backfill. If the sample analytical comes back clean then the soil will be used as backfill. Transportation of the soil to KARG will be provided as part of the offer.
2/15/02	2/14/2002
During the period February 11 to 14 : Crews continue to sort the steel, concrete and wood from the debris piles. The sorted wood is being staged in a pile where the cow beaming building once stood. This is where the chipping operation is taking place. The debris pile that was the pickling room, beam shop, cow beaming and Crescendoe Road boiler room has been completely chipped. The chips are being staged near the Canal Street entrance for transportation to the landfill. The chips generated from the debris pile that was the former building #1 are being stored on the pad of former building #2. To date we have approximately 12,000 cubic yards of mulch stock piled.
2/10/02	2/8/2002
During the period February 04 to 10 : Crews continue to sort the steel, concrete and wood from the debris piles. The sorted wood is being staged in a pile where the cow beaming building once stood. This is where the chipping operation is taking place. The debris pile that was the pickling room, beam shop, cow beaming and Crescendoe Road boiler room has been completely chipped. The chips are being staged near the Canal Street entrance for transportation to the landfill. To date we have approximately 8,000 cubic yards of mulch stock piled. The chipping machine was relocated to the front of the site. The chipping of the debris pile that was building #1 began with the chips being staged on the pad of the former building #2 which is where the decon area was housed.
2/1/02	2/1/2002
During the period January 28 to February 01 : Crews continue to sort the steel, concrete and wood from the debris piles. The sorted wood is being staged in a pile where the cow beaming building once stood. This is where the chipping operation is taking place. The chips are being staged near the Canal Street entrance for transportation to the landfill. To date we have approximately 3,500 cubic yards of mulch stock piled. The bid process for the transportation has begun and bid packages sent to qualified trucking firms. The approved vendor(s) will be selected early next week.
1/25/02	1/25/2002
During the period January 18 to25: The 15,000 gallon fuel oil tank was emptied of the remaining #6 oil which was cut with diesel fuel to make pumping easier. Approximately 3,000 gallons of the fuel mixture was pumped out prior to dismantling the tank. The fuel mixture will be incinerated. After emptying the tank it was taken down and crushed. It will be stored with the salvage steel until it is shipped. Crews continue to sort steel, concrete and wood from the debris piles. The wood is staged on the pad where the cow beaming building once stood. This is the area where the wood chipping operation will take place. Crews continue to clean and pump out tank # 15. It appears that there is groundwater infiltration into the tank. The tank will therefore, be thoroughly cleaned. When the tank is clean it will be backfilled with clean brick, concrete and block. Approximately 1 ton of copper was shipped to the salvage yard during this period. The vendor chosen to chip\grind the wood brought his equipment to the site. A large electromagnet was brought on site to assist in the removal of steel from the wood debris pile.
1/18/02	1/17/2002
During the period January 12 to17: It has been snowing on and off during the entire week. The accumulation of snow as of 01/17/02 is about 4" and has not halted removal activities. Three 35,000 gallon above ground storage tanks were purchased by a local company. The tanks were loaded on a flat bed truck and transported a few blocks away. The money raised by their sale is being used to fund the site. The scrap steel removal continues with 17 trucks loaded and shipped off-site. There were 12 trucks of junk steel and 5 trucks of structural steel. The total amount shipped this period was approximately 138 tons. There were 91 tons of junk and 47 tons of structural. The two large steam boilers were dismantled this week and shipped off site as either junk or structural steel. The brick from the stack and clean block were crushed and used as backfill in the site pits and vats. The last of building #2, which housed the decon area, was dismantled during this period. The concrete block, steel and wood were segregated during the dismantling activities. The bidders for the chipping/grinding of the wood were given a tour of the site. The bidders are only bidding on the chipping/grinding aspect since the county agreed to accept the material as landfill cover. The transportation will be handled by local independent owner/operators on a per load basis which we found, was economically more efficient for the project as well as the local economy. There was an article in the January 16, 2002 edition of The Leader - Herald concerning the site. The article explains the co-operation among the city, county, state and federal governments to arrive at a successful conclusion.
1/11/02	1/11/2002
January 07 to 11:During the period The crews re-mobilized on January 7, 2002, after the holiday break. The first day back greeted us with 5"of snow, therefore snow removal was the first order of business. The scrap steel continues to be shipped off-site. There were -12- trucks of steel shipped during this period. Two were structural steel and ten were junk steel. The liquid in tank 15 is being pumped to the Johnstown - Gloversville Sewage Treatment Plant. There was approximately 4"of ice on the tank surface that had to be broken to get to the liquid. A total of 5.5 tons of KARG files were taken to the landfill. These files are to be recycled. The backfilling of the north settling tank with clean, crushed concrete block has begun. The bid process has begun to secure a qualified vendor to chip the wood and ship the chipped wood to an approved facility.
12/15/01	11/9/2001
During the period December 8 to 15 2001: Building #1 was completely dismantled on Monday, December 10. Fourteen loads of scrap steel totaling more than 100 tons were shipped off site for salvage to date. A final 4000 gallon load of animal fat was transferred from tank #18 into a vacuum truck and shipped off site for proper disposal this week. Tank #18 was then cleaned with a pressure washer and the wastewater sent to the public utility. Tank #14 contains 1400 gallons of #6 fuel oil which was cut with 1200 gallons of #2 fuel oil to facilitate pumping out and cleaning this tank. Tanks #10 and #11 containing Altasol and Leukanol residues were cleaned. Wastewater treatment tanks #15 and 16 were pumped to the public utility sewer and the tanks were then covered. Wood debris piles were covered with plastic sheeting to protect them from the weather during the three-week downtime scheduled over the holidays. The 135 feet tall brick boiler stack is scheduled to be taken down on Friday, December 14. Visit the images section of the web site. We’ve added a lot of new captioned-photos. The address is http://www.epaosc.net/ During the period December 1 to 7 2001: Wood debris from building #2 was used to construct a ramp on the north-east side of building #1. The long reach excavator then proceeded to dismantle the building. Dismantling of building #1 is 75 % complete. The concrete shed containing a 4500 gallon sulfuric acid tank (tank #13) was dismantled. The residue from this tank was then drained into two 55-gallon drums. A dry residue from tank #12 was transferred into two 55-gallon drums. Two loads comprising 9000 gallons were transferred from tank #18 into vacuum trucks and shipped off site for proper disposal this week. Visit the images section of the web site. We’ve added a lot of new captioned-photos. The address is http://www.epaosc.net/ During the period November 26 to 30: All government and contractor personnel received OSHA Certified Asbestos Awareness Training. The Site Assessment Team was on site during the week to collect soil, groundwater, and sediment samples to support an Integrated Assessment at the site. The two-story wooden section of building #2 and all of building #3 were dismantled. The office section of building #1 is in the process of being dismantled and should be completely gone by close of business Saturday. The steel reinforced concrete walls of tanks # 1 - 8 of the water filtration system were dismantled with a jackhammer attachment on an excavator. These tanks were then backfilled with clean fill. The asbestos abatement crew will complete their work in the boiler room area of building #1 by close of business today. There were 250 bags of ACM shipped off site this week. Dismantling of building #1 will continue next week. Visit the images section of the web site. We’ve added a lot of new captioned-photos. The address is http://www.epaosc.net/ During the period November 11 to 17: Building #2 was decontaminated with a 1% bleach solution. The 4-story portion of the building was then dismantled. Building #1 was decontaminated with a 1% bleach solution. Building #1 will be dismantled upon completion of the asbestos abatement action. The Finishing Operations portion of building #1 was dismantled. The concrete pad, where building #3 (Cow Beaming and Tanning) once stood, was decontaminated with a 1% bleach solution. The asbestos abatement crew completed their work in the office area of building #1. During the asbestos abatement action, a large amount of friable asbestos was found throughout the office area hidden behind walls, above the ceiling, and in hidden chases. They will begin in the boiler room when operations resume on 26 November 2001. A Level-C ensemble is still required for entry into building #1. The Site-Specific Health and Safety Plan was amended to permit downgrade to a Level-D ensemble with disposable coveralls for those activities posing a low risk of splash hazard or dust contact. The Site Assessment Team was on site during the week to collect soil, groundwater, and sediment samples to support an Integrated Assessment at the site. Preparations were made to secure the site over the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. The crew will demobilize for a rest break during the week of 18 -26 November 2001. During the holiday shutdown, a ceiling increase will be requested to compensate for the additional ACM found in the office area. Asbestos was found in the floor/ceiling and roof/ceiling assemblies of the majority of the wood structures. The outside walls of each of these structures are covered with asbestos shingles. It is estimated that 20,000 tons of ACM building debris will be shipped to the county landfill for disposal. In addition, approximately 2,000 tons of chromium contaminated cinder blocks will be shipped to a facility yet to be determined. We were able to consolidate all hazardous chemicals, sludges, and light ballasts found throughout the facility into approximately 130 drums which will be shipped to proper facilities for disposal. During the period November 2 to 9: Crews removed 74 lighting ballasts from the office area. The ballasts were drummed and placed in the drum storage building for proper disposal at a later time. They completed the removal of ceiling tile and wall paneling to expose the asbestos pipe insulation. Some asbestos insulated pipes run the entire length of the office building above the rafters. The roof was supported and these rafters were cut for access to the pipes. The asbestos abatement contractor is now removing the pipe insulation. The 2-story portion of the east end of building #2 is completely down. A ramp was constructed along the east end of building #2. The ramp was constructed from the wood debris generated from the dismantling activities to date. This ramp will provide the “long-stick” excavator access to the roof of the four-story section of the building during dismantling operations. Quarry blend stone was delivered to augment the supply of crushed concrete for back filling the sludge tank pits. As the concrete is crushed, the reinforcing metal is removed and set aside. It will be sold as salvage at the conclusion of the project. The asbestos abatement crew completed their work in the finishing operations building. They have now moved to the boiler room and office area. The decontamination of buildings 1 and 2 with a bleach solution began. A granular bleach solution is dissolved in a drum and then applied with a fire hose at a metered ratio of 1% bleach in solution. Once the bleach solution is applied, the building will be dismantled.
11/2/01	11/2/2001
During the period between October 27, and November 2: Crews have completed the vacuuming in building #1. The vacuum truck was emptied, decontaminated and left the site. Ten drums were filled with the material vacuumed out of the building. These drums were staged in the drum storage building for proper disposal. The east end (a 2-story portion) of building #2 is 95% dismantled. Crews continue to segregate the debris into steel, wood, wire and concrete piles. The north wall of building #2 has been secured with 2" x 4" and 2" x 6" lumber to prevent it from falling onto neighbors’ houses/property during dismantling operations. The asbestos abatement crew is now finished. This has cleared the way for the dismantling of the 4-story portion. Crews continue to dismantle the tanks and buildings associated with the sludge and filter press system. The filter press building and concrete sludge tanks are 90% down. The reinforcing metal from the concrete is being separated and will be sold as salvage. The concrete has been cleaned and pulverized and will be used to backfill the sludge tank pits. Approximately 100,000 additional gallons of liquid were pumped to the Johnstown-Gloversville Sewage Treatment Plant. The majority of this aliquot was from tank #15. A crew went into the office building and began removing the ceiling tile and lighting. The lighting ballast was removed and drummed. The files that were collected and then boxed up were taken off site for storage. This is to prepare the area for the asbestos crew to go in and remove asbestos pipe insulation. Our first on-site injury: The asbestos abatement crew (a subcontractor to WRS) was working in the finishing operations building when one of their workers fell. He was sitting on a pipe that was approximately 15' high cutting an adjacent pipe with a power saw, when he fell off. He landed head first onto the concrete floor also hitting the wall on the way down. Radio notification was made immediately and WRS operators in an adjoining area immediately went to the scene. The victim was evaluated and placed on a back board. He was then carried to the decon area and decontaminated. By that time (approximately 5 minutes) the emergency medical crew (EMC) were notified and arrived. It took the EMC approximately 15 minutes to prepare him for transport. He was taken to Nathan Littauer Hospital in Gloversville and entered the emergency room. He was later taken to Albany Medical Center, trauma unit, where he was treated then sent to the Intensive Care Unit. The results of the exam revealed that he suffered a fractured skull, fractured sternum, possible punctured lung and bruised ribs. He is listed as guarded but stable. As a note: witnesses say that the worker was not following safety protocols, he was warned by the crew not to do what he was doing, but continued. Before their company supervisor could be notified, he had fallen.
10/26/01	10/25/2001
The following activities cover the period from October 19th through October 26th. Crews continue to pump the various tanks down. The eight tanks that make up the sludge and filter press system have all been pumped into the settling tank that runs along Cayadutta Creek. The settling tank will be pumped to the Johnstown - Gloversville Sewage Treatment Plant as soon as the analytical results are received. The buildings, roofs, and associated piping for these tanks are being dismantled. The vacuuming of building # 1 continues and they have completed down to the second floor. The vacuuming crew is also removing the ballasts from lighting fixtures as they move through the building. The ballasts will be drummed and staged in the drum storage building for proper disposal at a later time. The area where the loading/shipping building was taken down has been cleaned of all debris. All of the debris was placed inside the area where the cow beaming building once stood. The steel supports that came out of the building were placed on the salvage pile. The wood was reduced to splinters with the pulverizing attachment on the track hoe and it was stock piled with the clean wood. The opening to the boiler room building, created when the loading/shipping building was taken down, was sealed up with poly sheeting. The crew size grew by four members this week. The new crew members are initially working on shoring up the beam shop and pickling building wall where it abuts the neighbors property. The shoring up is being done to prevent the wall from falling onto the neighbors property during the dismantling of the building. The dismantling of the east end of the pickling and beam shop building (lime room) has begun. The transformer on the north side of the pickling and beam shop building had the trees and vegetation growing around it removed and the wires cut. The wooden structure that housed the transformer was removed. All of the ancillary poles, insulators, and large wire tray that channeled the wires into the building were removed. The wire that was removed was placed with the other wire to be sold as scrap at the end of the project. The removal of the transformer will require a larger piece of equipment due to its weight.
10/19/01	10/19/2001
The following activities cover the period from October 15th through October 19th. Vacuuming operations were completed in the pickling and beam shop building, (building #2). The vacuuming operations were moved into the coloring and tanning operations, (building #1). The material being vacuumed is placed into 55 gallon drums for disposal at a later date. The vacuuming is to reduce any biological hazards associated with animal hair and debris from animal hides. It will also reduce the hazards associated with broken glass and other sharp objects. The pumping of liquid from tank #15 to the Johnstown - Gloversville Sewage Treatment Plant continues. Approximately 500,000 gallons of liquid have been sent to the treatment plant to date. Periodic sampling of the liquid continues to insure that all contaminant levels continue to be within the treatment plants guidelines. An asbestos abatement firm toured the building and identified the asbestos containing material (ACM). The areas where the ACM have been located were cordoned off and isolated with poly sheeting and will not be vacuumed until the ACM is removed by a qualified contractor. The asbestos abatement contractor selection process has been completed and will be awarded on Monday, October 22, 2001. The utility pole that was located adjacent to the break trailers and leaning precariously was taken down. A crew from Citizens Communications rerouted the phone line to a new pole and removed the old one. Citizens Communications took the old pole off site for disposal. The hole created by the removal of the utility pole was about 3'-4' deep and had groundwater standing on the bottom. A sample of the water and underlying soil was obtained and sent to a lab for analysis. Since the pole was set in the 1930's, the samples will be fully analyzed to establish a background reading for the site. Cresol and creosote were omitted from the list of analytes, since the bottom of the pole was coated with these products. The loading/shipping building along Crescendoe Road was taken down due to its dilapidated and partially collapsed condition. During high wind conditions, fragments were blowing off the building and that presented a safety hazard.
10/16/01	10/16/2001
KARG Brothers Tannery, Johnstown, Fulton County, New York (SOLECKI) The following activities cover the period from October 8th through October 14th. The entire site was mapped with a G.P.S. unit. The property line, road, and buildings were the main points taken. These points were then downloaded onto a computer to create a site map. WRS continued to collect and inventory lighting ballasts from throughout the building. The total number of ballasts collected to date is 38. The ballasts have been staged in the drum storage building. Vacuuming operations continue in the pickling and beam shop building, (building #2). The material being vacuumed is placed into 55 gallon drums for disposal at a later date. The vacuuming is to reduce any biological hazards associated with animal hair and debris from animal hides. It will also reduce the hazards associated with broken glass and other sharp objects. The pumping of liquid from tank #15 to the Johnstown - Gloversville Sewage Treatment Plant continues. Approximately 300,000 gallons of liquid have been sent to the treatment plant to date. Periodic sampling of the liquid continues to insure that all contaminant levels continue to be within the treatment plants guidelines. The floor drainage for the drum storage building (pole barn style building former warehouse for incoming hides and distillery building) was repaired. The north and west side of the building had an outside asphalt drainage trench that would back up during heavy rain. Asphalt berm/patch was placed along the bottom of the building where the corrugated metal wall meets the asphalt trench. This will prevent the water from entering the building. Representatives from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and EPA remedial group personnel toured the site. The purpose of their visit was to gather information for future soil and Cayadutta Creek sediment sampling. In the early 1970s, when the “finishing operation” building was built and an addition was made to the “tanning and coloring operations” building. The creek had to be rerouted to make space for the new construction, which was built on the old stream bed. Both the old and new stream beds will be sampled within the next 3-4 weeks by the remedial group.
10/9/01	10/4/2001
Due to the World Trade Center Incident, we have been delayed in posting bulletins. The work described in this bulletin was completed over the past month. Windows and doors in all buildings have been covered with polymer sheeting to control fugitive dust emissions associated with asbestos removal or from potential biological contamination during vacuuming operations in the buildings. The vacuuming will remove the bulk of residual hair and other contaminants prior to the removal of the building. The building interior will then be decontaminated with a bleach solution for an extra level of safety. Most of the wooden tumblers inside buildings #1 and #2 were removed and crushed. Several of the tumbler base structures could not be removed without disturbing the building structure, and will be removed along with the building. Broken glass, boards and other debris have been segregated to prevent a missile safety hazard during vacuuming operations. The North-East section of the finishing operations building has been removed, creating space for safer equipment operations. Product level readings were taken on all of the tanks on the site. The total amount of liquid in the eight tanks associated with the waste water treatment system is approximately 126,000 gallons. Samples were obtained from each tank and sent to a laboratory for analysis. The City of Johnstown has approved four of these tanks for discharge to the city sewer system, and pumping of these tanks is in progress. The chrome solution tank was emptied and the contents were placed into 55 gallon drums. These drums were removed to the drum staging area. The tank was then decontaminated, dismantled and staged in the cow beaming area. The overhead utility lines and utility pole in the cow beaming area were removed. All of the electrical wiring generated is being segregated to be sold as scrap at the conclusion of the project. Six power transformers were removed from utility poles and staged in the drum area for disposal. Five additional power transformers and four mercury switches were located within the buildings and segregated in the drum area for disposal. Removal Support Team and Coast Guard Atlantic Strike Team made a final sweep of buildings to remove all drums and containers. Six empty drums remain located in an unstable area of the building #2, which will be removed during the removal of the building.
9/7/01	9/7/2001
On September 5, 2001 the site was remobilized after the holiday shutdown. During the shut down severe thunderstorms damaged the many poly-sheets used to seal the pickling building and the tanning and coloring building. The poly-sheets were repaired and/or replaced as necessary. The pit in the lime room was cleaned and the room was swept and prepared for washing. A large portion of the steel from the cow beaming and tanning building was decontaminated and stage for disposal to a salvage yard. The crew began breaking down and staging the large cow hide tumblers and staging them for chipping, cleaning the trench in the beaming room of the pickling building, pumped the waste water from the settling tank in the #2 water filtration plant and removed the overhead pipe chase between the cow beaming and tanning building and the pickling building.
8/24/01	8/24/2001
Since 8/18/01 the cow beaming and tanning building has been dismantled, approximately one-hundred drums have been HAZCATed and are staged for transportation and disposal. A portion of the "KARG BROS. TANNERS" sign on the fascia/parapet of the main tanning and operations building had to be removed. The winds from the frequent high intensity thunderstorms knocked down the parapet portion of the sign. The sign was somewhat historical in that it stood as a monument to the one time largest tannery in the U.S. The perimeter fence in the rear of the property had to be reset because the original fence was attached to the cow beaming and tanning building which is no longer there (approximately 200 yards). All water runoff from the facility is now being captured. The water will be sampled and filtered to meet the local utility sewer standard for disposal into that system. The cleaning of the miles of trenches has begun using a mini-excavator. This will be a long and arduous task. The hair is being staged on plastic to allow it to dry and will be drummed for disposal. The sludge in the settling tanks have been sampled and sent of to a lab for analysis. Scrap yards are being solicited to take the steel structural beams and columns. To be safe, the steel will be rinsed with a light bleach solution prior to disposal. They have little or no value for anything but scrap, due to the large amount of corrosion resulting from the constantly fluctuating high acid to high alkaline environment of the tanning process. Some of the steel has also been exposed to the weather for some time due to dilapidation. The wood recycler that is buying a portion of the wood from the Independent Leather site evaluated the wood in all of the buildings and was not optimistic as to the value due to its rotting condition. Other recyclers will be called in for their opinions, as well. The site has been secured for the upcoming shut down period. The site will be demobilized from 8/27 - 9/4. Large portions of the crew are leaving for the contract required "home visit" both this weekend and next. To maintain continuity in the crew it best serves the operation to demobilize the entire site for that period. The site will be under a 24hr guard service during that time.
8/17/01	8/17/2001
Since 8/11/01 the south bay of the cow beaming and tanning building has been removed. Space is a premium here, the buildings occupy almost the entire footprint of the property, we now have space to begin staging the contaminated equipment and building debris. The contaminated debris is being staged on and covered by plastic to protect it from the weather. The “clean” debris is being staged separately to await disposal to the local landfill. The windows in all of the remaining buildings have been sealed with plastic for dust control when the hair/skin/dust vacuuming and asbestos abatement begins. The hide receiving building has been cleaned and prepared for the contaminated wood chipping process. More drums were found in a remote portion of one of the sheep beaming shops, five appear to contain dyes, three contain sulfuric acid, two contain unknowns and will be sampled at a later time. The two drums containing unknowns are too dilapidated to be moved and had to be over-packed. A special field test kit (from HAZCAT) for Chromium and Chromium VI was purchased. The sensitivity of the kit will detect down to 10ppm (Chromium III cannot be delineated out from base chromium). Eighteen samples of wood and cement building debris were taken. The samples chosen were those believed to be chrome contaminated by their appearance (Examples of the debris that was sampled are shown in the “images” section of the website (epaosc.net, sites, region 2, KARG Tannery)). Of the eighteen samples all were positive for chrome, eleven of the samples tested positive for Chrome VI. Since the area is subject to frequent flooding and the groundwater is relatively close to the surface these chromium constituents can cause a leaching hazard. Precautions are being taken to prevent this from happening as a result of our on-site operations.
8/10/01	8/16/2001
On Saturday, August 4, 2001 there was a minor fire on the site. The fire originally occurred at approximately 10:00am. A gas powered portable generator had ignited some brush adjacent to the Pickling Building. The fire was immediately extinguished with a dry chemical ABC fire extinguisher. A few buckets of water were dumped on the brush to ensure extinguishment. However, the fire had somehow worked its way into the wall of the building unnoticed by the ERRS crew and smoldered. At approximately 1530 hours the security guard during his rounds, noticed a flame coming out of the wall of the building. He immediately called the Johnstown Fire Department (F.D.) one block away. By the time the F.D. arrived the flames were rea ching above the roof of the forty-five-foot high wooden building. The fire damaged a small section of the floor/ceiling assembly and inside of the outside wall assembly between the first and second floors. Structural damage was minimal due to the rapid response of the F.D. The damage was not repaired. A temporary bridge was built and installed to cross the area instead. The damaged portion is a part of the exit route from the second floor. Chief Steve Hart and the whole Johnstown Fire Department has been very helpful to us since the start of this project. They will be providing a Fire safety class for the cleanup workers sometime in the very near future. All windows, in the Tanning & Coloring Operations building and the Pickling building have been sealed with polyethylene film in order to prevent dust from migrating outside of the buildings during operations. The removal of building debris from the collapsed sections of the Cow Beaming & Tanning building has begun. The floor in the Shipping and Receiving building is being cleaned. A Remedial program representative and his SAT contractor collected seven sediment samples from the trenches throughout the various buildings and these will be analyzed for full TCL/TAL by a CLP laboratory.
8/03/01	8/16/2001
The removal project is well underway. The site parking area, driveway and East Fulton Street are no longer subject to flooding. Level C is required in all buildings. There is still extensive chromium and biological contamination throughout the building several sections are also contaminated by asbestos. There are still many unsafe/dilapidated areas of the building which are and will remain closed off until access is required. A decontamination structure has been constructed in accordance with Centers for Disease Control (CDC)recommendations, for biological contamination. Two tons of bagged skins were combined with a load from Independent Leather for removal and disposal on 08/01/01. Approximately 1 ton of additional skins have been found in remote areas of the facility. Drums and small containers that were scattered throughout the building have been collected from areas of the facility that are safely accessible and staged for sampling and analysis. Temporary string lighting has been installed in dark areas of the building. Unsafe areas of the building have been marked off with spray paint and caution tape. The electric utility company (Ni-Mo) installed electrical service on 08/03/01. Level C protection is being used in all parts of the building complex except the shipping and receiving building. This area, although somewhat dilapidated and a good portion now open to the outside air, is relatively uncontaminated by the chrome and animal by-products. It is well laid out for loading trucks for the shipment of the contaminated wood. Chipping is the process chosen for reducing the bulk of the immense amount of contaminated wood. The processing area will be upgraded to Level C when chipping begins and a buffer zone between the trucks and the chipping process will be established. The Mayor and many other city officials visited the site and offered to provide assistance, if needed.
7/26/01	8/16/2001
Site mobilization began on July 24, 2001. A safety walk of the entire facility was conducted. Additional chemical drums and tanks, raw leather and hair piles were identified. As a side note on the upper floors, scrap leather was used as insulation in the walls. Small non-usable pieces were tucked between the outer wall and cardboard from boxes that were stapled to the wall studs. Level C protection will be used in all parts of the building complex except the shipping and receiving building. This area, although dilapidated and a good portion now open to the outside air, is relatively uncontaminated by the chrome and animal by-products. It is well laid out for loading trucks for the shipment of the contaminated wood. Chipping is the process chosen for reducing the bulk of the immense amount of contaminated wood. The processing area will be upgraded to Level C when chipping begins and a buffer zone between the trucks and the chipping process will be established. The Mayor visited the site and offered to provide assistance, if needed. On Thursday, 8/26/01, the crew and office trailers arrived. The loose leather search and removal continued. The leather collection is being expedited rapidly because it is being combined with the “Independent Leather Site” shipment. The structural engineer was on-site to evaluate structural condition of the buildings. He claims that some of the bio-degradation of the wood in older portions of the building is much farther along in the degradation process than normal. He attributes it to the combination of weather exposure and the bio-processes performed in the building.

KARG Tannery

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