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Old ESCO site added to EPA cleanup priorities list

Release Date: 09/03/2008
Contact Information: Dave Bary or Tressa Tillman at 214-665-2200 or r6press@epa.gov

(Dallas, Texas – September 3, 2008) The Environmental Protection Agency has added the site of a former electrical transformer facility in Greenville, Texas, to the National Priorities List (NPL) for cleanup of contaminated sites.

EPA and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) announced today that the Old ESCO Manufacturing facility is among six sites across the nation being placed in the national cleanup program, also known as Superfund.

“The Superfund program continues to make progress in protecting human health and the environment by cleaning up the nation's most contaminated sites,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard E. Greene.

“EPA and TCEQ work together on this important program so that these contaminated sites can be remediated as quickly as possible," said TCEQ Chairman H.S. Buddy Garcia.

The Old ESCO site was added to the NPL because of the presence of elevated concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in soils at the facility and adjacent properties. Electrical transformers were manufactured at the facility from 1945 to 1970. The manufacturing process included the use of oil containing PCBs, which are probable carcinogens that can also cause other health problems in humans and wildlife.

The EPA Superfund program works closely with state agencies to clean and restore uncontrolled contaminated properties. To date, there have been 1,587 sites listed to the NPL. Of these sites, 329 have been removed resulting in 1,258 sites currently on the NPL.

The Old Esco site was proposed to the Superfund list in March 2008. Other sites added to the national cleanup list include the following: Iron King Mine – Humboldt Smelter in Dewey-Humboldt, Ariz.; Nelson Tunnel/Commodore Waste Rock in Creede, Colo.; Flash Cleaners in Pompano Beach, Fla.; Aberdeen Contaminated Ground Water in Aberdeen, N.C.; and East Troy Contaminated Aquifer in Troy, Ohio.

Additional information on the Superfund National Priorities List is available at https://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/index.htm.

To learn more about activities in EPA Region 6, please visit https://www.epa.gov/region6.