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HAZARDOUS DRUMS TO BE REMOVED FROM WINDSOR FACILITY

Release Date: 02/26/1997
Contact Information: Liza Judge, EPA Community Involvement, (617) 918-1067 AmyJean Lussier, EPA On-Scene Coordinator, (617) 223-5514

BOSTON -- A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency cleanup crew has begun to remove drums of hazardous chemicals stored in a trailer at Bradford Industries, Inc., a former bathtub and fixture glazing facility in Windsor, Connecticut.

The crew has repackaged 69, fifty-five gallon drums and 250 smaller containers of bathtub glazing chemicals stored in a box trailer at the facility, located at 88-90 Pierson Lane in downtown Windsor. While preparing the chemicals for disposal, the cleanup crew wears fully-protective suits and uses supplied oxygen to enter the trailer. The EPA will monitor air quality regularly to ensure that the site's neighbors, and the crew working directly with the containers, are protected. In the next month, the repackaged chemicals will be trucked to appropriate hazardous waste disposal facilities.

"Despite some efforts by the owner of this property, there hasn't been enough done to protect residents. This is a case where Superfund money can be put to great use now to safely remove this problem, "said John P. DeVillars, administrator of the EPA's New England office.

The glazing chemicals reportedly include acids, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), dichlorobenzene and other unknown chemicals. Stacked improperly in a trailer, a spill could cause incompatible chemicals to mix, resulting in an explosion or fire. Responding fire fighters could be exposed to hazardous vapors. In addition, the site is situated close to homes and two local day care centers.

Water suppression of a potential fire could spread the hazardous chemicals to adjacent wetlands and a brook bordering the site. The brook empties to the Farmington River which is used for recreational swimming and boating.

From 1986 to 1992, Bradford Industries, Inc. reglazed bathtubs and bathroom fixtures on the three-acre facility. In April 1992, when the company was evicted by the property owner, the local Sheriff noticed drums and containers stored improperly. The Sheriff contacted CT DEP to report the problem.

In 1993, the property owner moved the containers to a locked storage trailer on the property. Since 1993, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection has routinely inspected the trailer to ensure the containers were secure. After a January 1996 inspection by EPA and CT DEP found that the drums and containers were still stored unsafely in the trailer, EPA requested that the responsible parties remove the drums. Bradford Industries and the property owner indicated they do not have the financial resources to remove the chemicals.