EPA v. ALCHEMTRON, INC., ET AL

Case summary

THIS IS A COST RECOVERY ACTION UNDER CERCLA SEC 107 TO RECOVER $229,402.08 FROM SCI, ACCEM-TRON, INC., HANDY & HAR- MAN, APPLIED TECHNOLOGY, UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, UNIROYAL INC., & HERCULES, INC. FOR CERCLA SEC 104 REMOVAL OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES FROM THE POTTSTOWN ABANDONED TRAILER SITE. AL- THOUGH THERE IS A CONFUSING & COMPLEX WEB OF FACTS & PRPS, ALL THE SUBSTANCES CAN BE TRACED TO TWO OF THE DEFS, SCI & ALCHEM-TRON, & IN ALMOST EVERY INSTANCE, THE ORIGINAL GENER- ATOR OF THE SUBSTANCE IS KNOWN. MR. CHARLES COLBERT SERVED AS PRES OF SCI CHEMICALS INC., SCI EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY INC. & SEVERAL OTHER COMPANIES & BUSINESS OPERATIONS AND HIS BROTHER, JACK COLBERT SERVED AS VICE-PRESIDENT. THEY OPERATED SCI & OTHER RELATED COMPANIES FOR THE SALE & SHIPMENT OF VARIOUS CHEMICALS IN INTERSTATE & FOREIGN COMMERCE AS WELL AS OPERATING A DISPOSAL FACILITY. WHILE ARRANGING FOR SALES OF WASTE CHEMICALS, SCI STORED CHEMICALS IN VARIOUS WAREHOUSES PRIMARILY IN NJ & PA. SOME WERE STORED IN LICENSED TSD FACILITIES WHILE OTHERS WERE MERELY PLACED IN EMPTY WAREHOUSES W/OUT REFERENCE TO COMPAT- ABILITY, IGNITABILITY, ETC. ACCORDING TO ROBERT LIST, CURRENT PRESIDENT OF BLUE CHIP TRANSPORTATION CO., IN 10/84, HE WAS A PARTNER OF THE TREN- TON INTERNATIONAL WAREHOUSE (TIW). ON OR ABOUT 12/12/83, CHARLES COLBERT ARRANGED TO STORE 15 TRAILORS AT TIW. ONLY 2 LOADS WERE DELIVERED TO TIW THAT EVENING. BECAUSE OF THE BAD SHAPE THE DRUMS WERE IN, MR. LIST DID NOT WANT TO AC- CEPT THIS OR ADDITIONAL SHIPMENTS BUT HE DID ACCEPT 2 LOADS. IN EARLY 11/84, SINCE THERE WAS NO OTHER PLACE TO STORE THEM, MR. LIST BROUGHT THE TRAILERS CONTAINING THE DRUMS TO THE BLUE CHIP FACILITY AT POTTSTOWN, PA. PADER'S ATTEMPTS TO HAVE THE DRUMS REMOVED FROM THE SITE WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. 0N 3/20/85, DWIGHT WORLEY, CHIEF, DIV OF EMERGENCY & RE- MEDIAL RESPONSE, PADER, REQUESTED EPA ASSISTANCE IN PADER'S INVESTIGATION OF DRUMS STORED INSIDE 2 TRAILERS LOCATED IN POTTSTOWN, PA. ON 4/5/85, A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT WAS PERFORMED BY EPA. THE TRAILERS WERE UNLOCKED & SOME OF THE DRUMS WERE LEAKING. THE EPA INSPECTORS SAW DRUM LABELS WHICH INCLUDED BUT WERE NOT LIMITED TO CHLOFORM, ISOBUTANOL, HYDROCHLORIC ACID, BUTYL ACETATE & NITRIC ACID. DURING THE INITIAL INSPECTION, TESTS SHOWED TOTAL ORGANIC CHEMICAL LEVELS IN EXCESS OF 220 PPM INSIDE THE TRAILERS & 20 PPM AT THE DOOR OF ONE OF THE TRAILERS. THE TRAILERS THEMSELVES WERE IN AN OPEN FIELD & WERE UNPR OTECTED FROM UNATHORIZED ACCESS. THE OSC IMMEDIATELY ESTAB- LISHED, THROUGH THE ERCS, 24 HOUR SECURITY UTILIZING $5,000 IN APPROVED EMERGENCY FUNDS. ON 4/9/85, A MEETING WAS SCHEDULED BETWEEN SCI & EPA. THE MEETING DID NOT OCCUR, BUT A TELEPHONE CONVERSATION WAS HELD & SCI STATED THROUGH THEIR ATTORNEY THAT THE HAZARDOUS SUB- STANCES STORED IN THE BLUE CHIP TRAILORS WERE GOOD, VIABLE MATERIALS THAT THEY HAD PURCHASED. SCI'S LEGAL COUNSEL DID, HOWEVER AGREE THAT ANY CLEANUP BY SCI WOULD BE IN ACCORDANCE W/EPA SPECIFICATIONS. A MEETING ON SITE FOLLOWED ON 4/10/85. MIKE DUNAY, AN ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT (SCI'S REPRESENTA- TIVE), MET W/THE OSC & THE TAT TO DISCUSS THE TECHNICAL AS- PECTS OF A RESPONSIBLE PARTY CLEANUP. SCI AGREED TO CONVEY ITS DECISION BY CLOSE OF BUSINESS 4/11/85. NO RESPONSE WAS RECIEVED FROM SCI ON 4/11/85 & ON THAT DATE THE JUSTIFICATION FOR IMMEDIATE REMOVAL ACTIONS WAS AP- PROVED FOR $222,000 BY THE RA SO REMOVAL ACTIVITIES COULD BEGIN ON 4/12/85. THE OSC CALLED THE RESPONSIBLE PARTY (SCI) & TOLD THEM THAT ALTHOUGH ACTIVITIES HAD BEEN STARTED AT THE SITE, THEY COULD INTERVENE AT ANY TIME & TAKE OVER THE REMOVAL ACTIONS. SCI DECLINE TO TAKE ANY ACTION AT T

Defendants (13)

• SCI CHEMICALS, INC.Named in complaintNamed in settlement
• SCI EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY, INC.Named in complaintNamed in settlement
• SIGNO TRADING, INTERNATIONAL, LTDNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• UNIROYAL, INC.Named in complaintNamed in settlement
• UNIV. HOSPITAL OF CLEVELANDNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• ALCHEM-TRON, INC.Named in complaintNamed in settlement
• APPLIED TECHNOLOGYNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• COLBERT, CHARLESNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• COLBERT, JACKNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• HANDY AND HARMANNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• HERCULES POWDER COMPANYNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• MOUNT VERNON GROUPNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• MOUNT VERNON TRADING ASSOCITATIONNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• S C I INC

  MAIN ST, BUCHANAN, VA, 24066

  Registry ID: 110010607245

Statutes cited

• CERCLA 107 — Superfund

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• ALCHEMTRON, INC., ET ALentered 1989-10-30

  Primary law: CERCLA

Timeline (9 milestones)

• 1986-06-30Referred To Headquarters
• 1986-09-18Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 1987-09-01Returned To Region
• 1988-04-01Complaint Filed With Court
• 1988-04-01Rereferred
• 1989-10-30Final Order Lodged
• 1989-10-30Final Order Entered
• 1989-10-30Concluded
• 1990-05-22Enforcement Action Closed