Date: Fri 23-May-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Batchelder-clean-up

Full Text:

Officials Describe Batchelder Hazards: `The Worst Site In The State"

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

Describing it as "the worst site in the state in terms of immediate danger,"

state, federal and local officials Tuesday said a $503,000 initial clean-up

and fencing project will be done this summer at the former Charles Batchelder

Company plant on Swamp Road.

In a joint news conference at Edmond Town Hall, Daniel J. Burke, on-scene

coordinator for the US Environmental Protection Agency's Emergency Planning

and Response Branch, said the EPA has agreed to implement the recommendations

he made in an "action memorandum" last month. Those recommendations, which

were published in The Newtown Bee on May 9, include installing a chain link

fence around the 31-acre site, removing about two cubic yards of

lead-contaminated soil and containing and storing other contaminants within

the buildings.

"This EPA removal action is being done because of contaminants which pose an

immediate threat to the health of people or the environment," Mr Burke said.

"Over the next few weeks we will bring in contractors with the intention of

starting and finishing this project this summer."

Participating with Mr Burke in the news conference were Gary D. Perlman and

Kenneth F. Foscue from the Community Health Assessment Program of the State

Department of Public Health (DPH); Thomas O'Connor of the State Department of

Environmental Protection (DEP); and Mark A.R. Cooper, Newtown Health District

director.

"We need to get the message out that this (site) is a very serious health

hazard," Mr Foscue said. "It's the worst site in the state in terms of

immediate danger. There are large pits with stakes sticking out, storage

drums, part of the building is in danger of collapsing and there is a possible

fire and explosion risk with the gasoline storage tanks. People could go out

there and get killed."

The biggest danger is to youths who frequently trespass on the site, riding

dirt bikes, partying and painting graffiti inside the building, the officials

agreed.

"The main purpose of this news conference is to get the word out, to educate

the parents of the youths who might be going in there," Mr Foscue said.

Mr Burke said the fence won't stop people who really want to get in but it

will be posted with warnings about the hazards inside. The EPA will install

the fence but not maintain it; maintenance isn't the EPA's responsibility, he

said.

"The fence is a physical barrier which is in some sense symbolic," Mr Cooper

said. "A lot of the youths who trespass are from Monroe so we intend to work

with officials from that town as well to get the word out."

Outdoor Piles Will Stay

Dross piles, which contain fine particles of unmelted metallic materials that

were a by-product of the plant's smelting operation, are located both inside

and outside the buildings. Those inside the buildings will be collected and

contained on-site to keep the dust from being airborne and becoming an

inhalation threat, Mr Burke said.

The dross piles that are outdoors will be further evaluated, he said, but only

one pile which contains lead contaminants will be removed and sent to an

off-site disposal facility.

Karl Philippi, who moved with his family into a house at 42 Swamp Road, next

to the Batchelder property, last August, expressed concern about the EPA's

decision not to remove the outdoor piles.

"I don't think the fence will stop kids from getting in," he said. "I think

there's a real hazard of airborne dust from the piles. I've experienced a lot

more sickness this winter - my wife and son have, too. Even putting tarps over

the piles as a means of containment would help."

Mr Burke said tarps are not feasible. The outdoor piles don't pose an imminent

risk if not disturbed - they contain larger particles and have become

oxidized, he said. The contamination in those piles is not a high enough level

to qualify for removal under the funds provided by the Comprehensive

Environmental Responsibility Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), he

explained.

"If the funding isn't used for the fencing, it can't be used for removing the

piles," he said. "The money would have to go back into the fund to be used at

another site."

Mr Perlman said the DPH's main concern is the fine dust which is inside the

building and poses a danger to anyone who enters. Although this material also

does not meet the requirements for CERCLA action, tests performed earlier this

year showed the metal dust contained elevated levels of chromium, cobalt,

aluminum and cadmium and inhaling it may cause damage to the respiratory

system. An exposure to powdered metal dust could cause metal fume fever, an

acute syndrome characterized by symptoms similar to the flu: fever, chills,

excess sweating, nausea, weakness, fatigue and throat irritation.

"When we were out on the property earlier this year, we all felt we had metal

tastes in our mouths," Mr Foscue said.

All drums and bulk containers on the site will be sampled, if contents are

still unknown, and will be inventoried, Mr Burke said. Once the contents have

been analyzed, these drums and containers will be transported to off-site

disposal facilities for recycling, treatment or disposal.

Sampling Area Wells

Mr O'Connor arrived a few minutes late for the news conference, explaining

that he and MaryAnne Danyeuk from the DEP had just finished sampling the wells

of the residences along Swamp Road and Wicks Lumber near the Batchelder site.

When the wells were sampled two years ago they did not show any traces of

contamination, he said.

The clean-up recommendations follow a report, prepared by the DPH in March,

which warned that there is a significant health and safety risk for anyone who

trespasses on the property where the aluminum smelting plant operated from

1947 to 1987. Charles Batchelder, who owned the property, has filed for

bankruptcy and for personal bankruptcy.

"We will be monitoring the potential exposure of the onsite workers during the

clean-up," Mr Burke said. "We want to be sure our activities do not create

excessive dust."

"We can't discuss long-term plans yet. Obviously the best would be for an

industry to step forward and want to use the site," he said. "Another

industrial use would be appropriate."

When an industrial re-use of the property is proposed, the site might qualify

for a more extensive clean-up under the EPA's Brownsfield program.

"I think what is most important is that within the space of two years, state,

federal and local governments got together to do something about this site,"

said Jim Smith, chairman of the Newtown Health District board. "They are

taking some very positive action."

The Batchelder company employed 125 people at its peak in the late 1970s and

early 1980s and was at one time the only smelting plant of its kind in New

England. But after an April 1984 explosion killed one worker at the plant and

damaged the structural integrity of the main building, the company was cited

for numerous violations and ceased all operations three years later.

Under an agreement approved by the Board of Selectmen and the Legislative

Council in January 1992, the company agreed to make $300,000 available to

assess pollution at the site and do limited clean-up work including the

removal of oil tanks. The money ran out about halfway through the project.