The Philips Components (Philips) property is located at 100 Providence Pike in North Smithfield, Providence County, Rhode Island. The 15-acre property is recorded by the Town of North Smithfield Tax Assessor as Lot No. 60 on Plat No. 4, and Lot No. 385 on Plat No. 5. There are five buildings located on the property. Since 1960, the property has been used for the manufacturing of electronic components. The property is bordered to the north by Industrial Drive; to the south by Comstock Road, to the east by a grassy area; and to the west by Providence Pike.
The property was in the process of being sold when the release occurred. The site is listed as a Rhode Island Brownfields Site, and the sodium permanganate injections were done to enhance the remediation of the chlorinated solvents at the site.
Initially, RIDEM had to respond since the PRP's Brownfields contractor who had installed the wells and injected the sodium permanganate would not return phone calls.
EPA responded to the incident, and Unified Command was established between the local fire department, RIDEM and EPA.
During the first evening of activities, the storm drains were pumped and then sand bagged to prevent further migration of the sodium permanganate to the river.
Early the following morning, the river and tributary was pumped of the visible product, and the Smithfield Fire Department brought in their pump trucks and continuously flushed the system until no purple was visible.
Water samples were collected by RIDEM at the outfall and in the river downstream of the incident. pH was checked frequently, and no known elevated levels entered the river.
By day two, the PRP hired their contractor (Shaw Environmental) to complete the emergency response actions. This involved pumping the storm drains and the tributary to the Branch River; flushing the storm drain system; and evaluating and removing the pipe chase that led from the contaminated area at the facility to the storm drain.
All emergency response activities have been completed. The Brownfields cleanup activities continue.
None at this time.
Site is a Rhode Island Brownfields Site - and is being cleaned up through their voluntary cleanup program.
No further EPA actions required.
PRP assumed financial responsibility for the cleanup - and no EPA costs were incurred - and all RIDEM costs were reimbursed.
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