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EPA to Hold Press Conference Regarding Cleanup at Universal Plating Site in Morganfield, Ky.

Release Date: 08/24/2004
Contact Information: Dawn Harris-Young, (404) 562-8421, harris-young.dawn@epa.gov

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a press conference on Thursday, August 26, 2004 at 1:30 p.m. regarding activities at the Universal Plating Site in Morganfield, Union County, Kentucky. Art Smith, EPA's On-Scene Coordinator for the site, will provide an update on the cleanup and be available to answer questions from the media. Work resumed at the site during the week of August 23, and will continue through the end of September. Activities conducted during this period include disposal of hazardous wastes at approved offsite facilities and a cleanup of the building where the plating operations occurred. The goal of the removal action is to restore the site to conditions favorable for appropriate commercial reuse. EPA's removal action is expected to be completed at an estimated cost of $250,000. The Universal Plating site is an abandoned facility which formerly operated as a electroplating and powder coating business from the late 1990s until 2002. The site is located at 135 Industrial Road, off U.S. Highway 60 east of Morganfield. At the request of the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection, EPA responded to this abandoned site in June 2004 to stabilize emergency conditions at the site. Following a site sampling investigation in July 2004, EPA determined that more than 15,000 gallons of plating solutions containing acids and cyanides are currently stored in the building. All testing performed to date at the Site indicates that the hazards are confined to the building. WHO: U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY WHAT: PRESS CONFERENCE REGARDING CLEANUP AT THE UNIVERSAL PLATING SITE WHEN: THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 2004, 1:30 P.M. CENTRAL TIME WHERE: 135 INDUSTRIAL ROAD MORGANFIELD, KENTUCKY