Pollution Report Profile - EPA OSC Response

American Tissue Mills of Maine
Augusta, ME - EPA Region I
POLREP #3 - Final POLREP

Printer Friendly | PDF

On-Scene Coordinator - Tom Condon	9/4/2007
Time-Critical - Removal Action	Pollution Report (POLREP) #3
Start Date: 10/23/2006	Completion Date: 8/30/2007

Site Description
The American Tissue Mills of Maine (ATM) Site is the former location of a tissue paper mill, which, prior to 2001 was operated by American Tissue Mills of Maine. In 2001, the company declared chapter 11 bankruptcy, and ceased operation of the mill. The mill was acquired by Augusta Tissue LLC in March 2003. Augusta Tissue LLC has not resumed operation of the mill. The facility has been unsecured and unheated since operations ceased in 2001. Most of the facility has been without electrical power since that time. Two former employees of American Tissue had been retained in a part-time capacity by Augusta Tissue. One of the responsibilities of these employees was to maintain a series of propane fueled heaters to keep the chemicals in the drums, totes, tanks and piping from freezing during winter. At one point during the winter of 2005/2006, the propane supply at the site ran out. ATM did not provide their employees with any funds to procure additional fuel, and the facility has been unheated since that time. Reportedly, the employees have not been paid for their services for several months. Electrical service was maintained in the office portion of the complex, until a fire destroyed the office on May 15, 2006.

Current Activities
Please refer to previous POLREPS for a description of site activities prior to June 11, 2007.

On June 13, 2007 EPA and its contractors remobilized to the site, and from that date through August 24, 2007 performed the following site activities.

• PCB contaminated oil was drained from the one large transformer, which could not be accessed previously.  The PCB contaminated oil was packaged, along with the small transformers and capacitors, and shipped off site for disposal.

• Liquids, including Ammonium Hydroxide, Phosphoric Acid, Sodium Hypochlorite, and Kymene were transferred from bulk storage tanks into tankers and shipped off site for treatment/disposal.

• Another bulk storage tank had been used to store Sodium Hydroxide solution.  Due to the concentration of the Sodium Hydroxide (50%), this tank had been heated to keep it in liquid form.  After that facility stopped operation, the tank was no longer heated.  As a result, the contents of the tank cooled and partially solidified, and the tank was found to contain Sodium Hydroxide in solid form as well as in solution.  An access portal was cut into the tank, and the accessible liquid was pumped into a tanker and shipped off site for treatment/disposal.  The tank was situated next to an exterior wall. A portion of the wall was removed, and a large access port was cut into the tank. An excavator was used to remove the solid material.  The activity of physically removing the material caused some of the material to liquefy.  The material was re-solidified and shipped off site for treatment/disposal.

• The facility included a bulk storage tank which was used to store alum, and a bulk storage tank used to contain lime.  At the time of mill operations, these products were stored in a pumpable solution/slurry form.  Since that time, settling and evaporation have changed the form of these products to non-pumpable solids.  The location of these tanks within the facility did not allow for the use of an excavator to remove the material.  To remove these products, access ports were cut into the tanks. Contractor personnel made confined space entries into the tanks, and broke the material into small enough pieces that they could be removed using a vacuum hose. The materials were then collected, and transported off site for treatment/disposal.

• Site generated waste which was constituted mainly of contaminated PPE and hoses was shipped off site for disposal.

On August 30, the OSC conducted a site inspection with DEP and City of Augusta officials. and determined that the Removal Action was completed.

Key Issues
Maine DEP has contributed to the clean up at the site by removing approximately fifty 55-gallon drums of non-hazardous oil. DEP also disposed of approximately 3,000 gallons of non-PCB oil from transformers, and approximately 3,000 gallons of solmet oil from a tank found at the site.

START costs were inadvertently overestimated in POLREP #1

Disposition Of Wastes

Waste Stream	Quantity	Manifest #	Disposal Facility
Lab Pack	1030 lbs.	000156339	Safety Kleen Systems, Inc. 3700 Lagrange Rd. Smithfield, KY 40068
Lab Pack	5900 lbs.	000156340	Enviro-Safe Corporation 263 Howard Street Lowell, MA 01852
Lab Pack	5600 lbs.	000156341	Enviro-Safe Corporation 263 Howard Street Lowell, MA 01852
Lab Pack	225 lbs.	000156342	Enviro-Safe Corporation 263 Howard Street Lowell, MA 01852
Lab Pack	1850 lbs.	000156344	Pollution Control Industries 4343 Kennedy Ave. East Chicago, IN 46312
Corrosive Liquid	330 gal.	000842237	General Chemical Corp. 133 Leland Street Framingham, MA 01701
Corrosive Liquid, Combustible Liquid	550 gal.	000842047	General Chemical Corp. 133 Leland Street Framingham, MA 01701
Corrosive Liquid, Starch Resin, Sodium Hydroxide	4950 gal.	000842247	General Chemical Corp. 133 Leland Street Framingham, MA 01701
Corrosive Liquid, Corrosive Solid, Sodium Hydroxide	495 gal.	000842255	General Chemical Corp. 133 Leland Street Framingham, MA 01701
Hypochlorite Solution, Flammable Liquids	220 gal.	000842236	Cycle Chem Inc. 217 South First Street Elizabeth, NJ 07206
Hazardous Substances Liquid n.o.s. (polychlorinated Biphenyls)	2250 gallons	000093571	Clean Harbors Environmental Services 4105 Whitaker Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19124
Polychlorinated Biphenyls Liquid	2275 gal	000877665	Clean Harbors Deer Park LP 2027 Battleground Road LaPorte, TX 77571
Hypochlorite Solution	4373 gal.	000911238	Clean Harbors of Conn., Inc. 51 Broderick Street Bristol, CT 06010
Hypochlorite Solution	4422 gal.	000911237	Clean Harbors of Conn., Inc. 51 Broderick Street Bristol, CT 06010
HYpochlorite Solution	4473 gal.	000911239	Clean Harbors of Conn., Inc. 51 Broderick Street Bristol, CT 06010
Polychlorinated Biphenyls Liquid	2000 kg	000877754	Clean Harbors Deer Park LP 2027 Battleground Road LaPorte, TX 77571
Aqueous Flocculant	2849 gal.	000911214	Clean Harbors of Braintree 1 Hill Ave. Braintree, MA 02184
Aqueous Flocculant	3311 gal.	000911217	Clean Harbors of Braintree 1 Hill Ave. Braintree, MA 02184
Aqueous Amine	3471 gal.	000911279	Clean Harbors of Braintree 1 Hill Ave. Braintree, MA 02184
Alum, Lime Slurry	9 tons	000911287	Clean Harbors of Conn., Inc. 51 Broderick Road Bristol, CT 06010
Hypochlorite Solution	4000 gal.	000911294	Clean Harbors of Conn., Inc. 51 Broderick Road Bristol, CT 06010
Lime Slurry, Alum	12 yards	000911301	Clean Harbors of Conn., Inc. 51 Broderick Road Bristol, CT 06010
Hypochlorite Solution	500 gal.	000911298	Clean Harbors of Conn., Inc. 51 Broderick Road Bristol, CT 06010
Sodium Hydroxide	825 gal.	000203217	ENPRO Services of ME 106 Maine Street South Portland, ME 04106
Sodium Hydroxide Solution	20 tons	000197600	STABLEX Canada Inc. 760 Boul Industrial Blainville, QC J7C 3V4
Sodium Hydroxide Solid	15 tons	000197599	STABLEX Canada Inc. 760 Boul Industrial Blainville, QC J7C 3V4
Ammonia Solution	2000 gal.	000292502	Vickery Environmental, Inc. 3956 State Rte 412 Vickery, OH 43464
Waste PPE	7 yards	000292503	EQ Detroit, Inc. 1923 Frederick St. Detroit, MI 482111