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This site is a former fireworks manufacturing facility. During World War 2 some munitions manufacturing may have occurred. Wastes onsite include fireworks components spread throughout the site in a number of small buildings and trailers. Many of these buildings and trailers were unsecured and in poor condition. On 3/25/07, a building onsite caught fire (allegedly started by vandals) and burned.
On 3/28/07, OSC Gregory Ham issued a Special Bulletin to activate an emergency response on site to address the hazards posed by potential fireworks and fireworks components onsite. On 3/29/07, the OSC and technical and cleanup contractors mobilized to the site, collected 21 samples of various materials onsite. Several bags of hexachloroethane were found onsite, along with small bags of pigments containing nitrobenzene. Two drums of material containing potassium perchlorate were found also.
On 4/3/2007, a hazard categorization was conducted on each of these samples. The results revealed 9 substances that were oxidizers, 5 shock sensitive/reactive, 4 flammables, 2 combustible, and 2 that gave off colored smoke (a number of samples were in multiple categories above). 9 samples gave no reactions.
The suspected hazardous/flammable materials onsite were overpacked or bagged and stored in two secure locations onsite, awaiting sample results for final disposition. The operator of the site has repaired the fencing onsite (completed 4/27/07).
On June 8, 2007, EPA and it's contractors returned to the site and shipped four drums of hazardous waste from the site, including various mixtures of hexachloroethane, sodium perchlorate, nitrobenzene, potassium perchlorate, and barium chlorate. These wastes were shipped to an approved offsite disposal facility.
An environmental assessment of the site was completed in June 2008. Surface and subsurface soil, groundwater, surface water, and sediment samples were collected at the site.
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