United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region X
POLLUTION REPORT

Subject: 

Lacamas Laboratories is a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant located in Portland, Oregon.

The Lacamas plant is located in an industrial setting of North Portland off of Marine Drive.  The property is composed of approximately 8 buildings that are used for storing process chemicals and the equipment necessary to produce percursor pharmaceutical  chemicals.  The total area is approximately 2.4 acres according to information taken from www.portlandmaps.com  

Concerns on site (beyond worker safety, fire and explosion) include the threat of runoff of pollutants and contaminants into the Columbia River.  

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) requested EPA’s assistance to both identify and mitigate any potential environmental threats on site.

EPA responded to the site at the request of the DEQ.  EPA formed a Unified Command with the RP, (the RP's contractor NRC), DEQ, and the USCG.

Summary from 1100 Planning Meeting:

Participants discussed roles during the removal action:
Environmental Issues:  DEQ and USEPA will coordinate efforts to ensure that environmental concerns are addressed during all of the removal activies taking place on site.

Oregon Bureau of Environmenal Services will ensure that all site waters are disposed of properly and meet the necessary permit requirements.  If water contaminats exceed applicable discharge permit values the waste water may be disposed of as process waste water at a local oil recycling facility.  

OR OSHA: will be conducting an investigation into the cause of the accident.


Tim Archer with NRC gave an operations debrief for the operational period 0415 to 2000 (May 9,2005).

On Site activities completed included:
-Five, 20K baker tanks have been filled with site contact waters.
-Building 4 has had the liquids from the floor pumped into an aboveground poly tank.
-The Baker tanks and poly tank were sampled today for disposal purposes.

Off Site water activities included:
-changing out the sweep boom

Air monitoring activities are being conducted by Marine Environmental.

Incident Investigation is being conducted by OR OSHA.  Six of eight buildings have been turned over to Lacamas Labs.  The remaining 3 buildings still need to be inspected. OR OSHA and Insurance company representatives will be working together to coordinate collection of evidence.

The following staff were in attendance for the 1100 meeting:
          
Craig T Cristy, Structural Eng for RP
Marc  Callaghan, FOSC, USEPA
Jennifer Powell, RPOS
Greg Marhett, Schaffer Engineering, Insurance
Martin Stapelson, Shcaffer Engineering, Insurance
Mike Amen, Site Safety Officer, NRCS
Brian Williams, Site Safety Officer, Marine Environmental
Jason Davendonis, Shaw, Insurance
Mike Kratovil, Lacmas Labs
Peter Titteringtor, Lacamas Labs
Tim Dean, OR Bureau of Env Services
Allen Erickson, Owner Lacamas Labs
Erin Lynch, EPA-Ecology and Environment
Tim Archer, NRCS, Removal Manager
Penny Wolfe McCormick, Oregon OSHA
Jason Potts, NRCS

Continue to control site runoff.  All site contact water will be collected in Baker tanks and tested prior to disposal.

Maintain curtain and absorbent boom on the Columbia River.

Complete integrity analysis of impacted buildings on site.  Shore buildings as necessary to provide safe environment for removing chemical and debris.  RP's Engineer will approve all building safety.

Continue air monitoring during operating hours.

Maintain 24 hour security.

Need to ensure that damaged chemical containers from inside building structures are handled by the appropriately trained personnel.