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The Smith Chemical site is located at 1221 3rd Street NE in Canton, Stark County, Ohio. The site includes a four story, brick building with a basement; a parking lot; and the surrounding property.
The site is bordered to the east by Rowland Avenue, to the north by 4th Street NE, to the west by a residential property, and to the south by 3rd Street NE. The site is surrounded by an area of residential properties and a warehousing district. Nimishillen Creek is located two blocks east of the site, and all surface water runoff from the site discharges into the creek. In addition, numerous schools are located within several blocks of the site.
The Smith Chemical Corporation began operations in January 1976. The company performed chemical manufacturing; custom chemical blending, packaging and brokerage; and chemical distribution to customers in Ohio and the five contiguous states. The company's markets included chemical manufacturers, steel manufacturers, oil and gas producers, oil refiners, drillers and service companies, metal plating, and publicly owned treatment works (POTW).
The company received molten sulfur in bulk tank trucks and converted it into various solid forms as required by its customers in the steel industry. These forms included 5-pound (lb) blocks, 4-lb blocks, and 1-by ½-inch nuggets. In addition, the company performed chlorination of spent hydrochloric acid pickle liquor (SPL) and subsequently sold the resulting product (ferric chloride) as a treatment chemical for phosphate removal from wastewater at POTWs. The company also offered leased space in its Canton warehouse to other businesses.
On May 18, 1993, Smith Chemical Corporation filed a petition pursuant to Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Service Chem of Ohio (SCO) began operating at the site in 1994 and reportedly ceased operations in November 2001. SCO was owned and operated by the same individuals who owned and operated Smith Chemical Corporation.
The current site owner purchased the property for $5 on December 18, 2002, at the County Auditor's Auction (Forfeited Land Sale). Reportedly the current owner planned to donate the property to a local charity for demolition and redevelopment into affordable, single-family dwellings.
On September 18, 2003, at the request of the current owner, the City of Canton Fire Department and Health Department visited the site. They observed a large number of abandoned drums at the site. The Health Department requested assistance from the Ohio.
Results from a joint site assessment by the U.S. EPA and Ohio EPA conducted on September 30, 2003, confirmed the presence of nearly 800 drums and smaller containers in the building. Analysis of samples collected by Ohio EPA confirmed the presence of flammable and corrosive materials as defined in 40 CFR. Building doors are inoperable or structurally unsound, and the interior is readily accessible to animals or trespassers. Large pools of spilled liquid are present on the floor in the basement and on the first floor. In addition, containers in the on-site laboratory that contain hazardous substances are small enough to be easily manipulated or transported off site. Based on laboratory analyses, container labels, and the facility historical chemical inventory records, hazardous substances exist on site and are contained in 55-gallon drums and smaller containers in varying conditions.
On January 5, 2004 , U.S. EPA mobilized the Emergency Rapid Response Services (ERRS) contractor, Earth Tech (ET), and the Superfund Technical Assistance and Response (START) contractor, Tetra Tech EM Inc., to conduct removal activities at the Smith Chemical site.
On January 6, 2004, site activities began and a command post and support zone areas were established in the building and empty drums from the upper levels were identified and staged on the ground floor. Small containers of laboratory chemicals located on the first, second, third, and fourth floors of the building were identified and moved to the chemical storage area on the first floor. The containers were consolidated and will be lab-packed by a potentially responsible party (PRP). Air monitoring was conducted during all removal activities with combustible gas indicator (CGI) and either a flame-ionization detector (FID) or photo-ionization detector (PID). No readings were detected above background.
Between January 7 and January 9, 2004, all empty drums located on the second, third, and fourth floors were moved to the ground floor and staged in the northeastern corner of the building. To date, approximately 150 empty drums have been staged. Drums containing waste that were located on the third and fourth floors were moved to the second floor for future staging. Approximately 50 drums from the upper levels will eventually be staged on the first floor for waste characterization.
Electricity was restored to the building. Air monitoring was conducted during removal activities with no readings detected above background.
Stage all drums containing waste from the first, second, third, and fourth floors on the first floor.
Sample and hazard categorize (haz-cat) drums marked “H-300" located in the basement.
Stage all drums in the basement.
Apply an identification number to each drum.
Document label information, sample, and haz-cat each drum.
Mobilization of chemist and laboratory equipment and supplies.
Bulking and disposal of all drums.
Two PRPs are currently working on site to remove their waste.
Freeman Environmental has lab-packed all laboratory chemicals and smaller containers and transported approximately 80 55-gallon drums of nonhazardous waste from the Site for final disposal. Freeman Environmental will also be disposing of drums containing flammable waste from the first floor.
Environmental Chemical Corporation has removed two 55-gallon drums from the Site and is in the process of removing products (ice-melt, control 256, and empty containers) from the basement that they stored at the warehouse.
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