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W-f f - S •*•» ,*
o • S'ii ^srl-^-l^^-l
*« 0 r™ y ^ o W' "S
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What Is EPA's Emergency Response and Removal Program.? . .
Pi
r
How Does- the Emergency Response and Removal Program Work? ..:..,. 4
The Threats.. ....„, .', >„ ...^ ::-.:.':. ....A
The ^ResponseV-AJ^^ram of Action '."..... 5
*&. * ^H** t,P a-^* 'i? ^- X^&s*^ f. /
femoval Actions at Long-Te^JCleanup Sites 7
s Essential
State and Local Governments Get Involved in s ^
Emergency Response and Removal Actions „ _,., , 10
Local Government Reimbursement , 11
• Expert Help Is Always Available—The Environmental- Response, Team-''-•';•:.....'::.:;'...:: 11
Envfronmefital:Resp,0n,seTeam.Traiiiiiig ."....".„.'..'...' 12
To Report a
For More Information
.12
.13T
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'Since 1980, EPA has responded to over 6,000
emergencies across the country.
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he goal of EPA's Emergency Response
and Removal Program is to protect the
public and the environment from
immediate threats posed by the release or
discharge of hazardous substances and oil.
These threats to the environment vary in size,
nature, and location^ Chemical fires, explosions,
leaking trucks, contaminated drinking water, and
toxic fumes are just some of the situations the
Emergency Response and Removal Program
regularly confronts.;..The critical element in all
cases is time—prompt action is crucial. Since
1980, EPA has responded to over 6,000 hazardous
substance and oil emergencies across the country.
The strength of the Emergency Response and
Removal Program is its ability to mobilize experts
and resources to respond to immediate, critical,
hazardous substance and oil threats. In an
emergency, EPA specialists can be on the scene
within hours. The Emergency Response and
Removal Program prevents many deaths and
injuries every year by forestalling fires, explosions,
or toxic vapor clouds. Early action can prevent
the spread of contamination and reduce the need
for long-term cleanups.
Not all actions begin under what are commonly
thought of as "emergency" conditions. Though
events such as tire fires, train derailments, and
chemical explosions require immediate action,
Bother less dramatic threats to public health are
addressed under EPA's Emergency Response and -
Removal Program. Such threats include the
discovery of ieaking drums or tanks at an
abandoned factory or complaints of tainted
drinking water near a landfill. Regardless of the
circumstances, quick and efficient cleanup of
hazardous material eliminates risks to" people and
the environment and minimizes the stigma ,/
contamination can-bring to properties and ™
communities.
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PA's Emergency Response and Removal
Program provides quick responses to
immediate threats from hazardous
substances and oil, wherever and whenever they
occur. The program's first priority is to eliminate
any danger to the public-—to make sites safe for
those who live or work nearby.
Hazardous substances are all around us—in active
and abandoned disposal sites, in trucks and trains,
and in industrial production and use. Hazardous
substances are found in paints; batteries,-'dry- :
cleaning agents, and hundreds of other common
industrial and consumer products and processes.
Hazardous substances are allaroundus—one-fifth of all Americans
live within three miles of a site to which EPA has responded.
If these substances get into the environment, they
may-contaminate our soils, lalces, arid fivers^ tEe^
water we drink, and the air we breathe.
Hazardous substances can irritate the skin or eyes,
make it difficult to breathe, or even poison
drinking water. Also, they can cause further harm,
such as cancer, birth defects, damage to the brain
or kidneys, and other medical problems. Negative
environmental impacts may include killing all life
in a lake or river, or destroying wildlife: in the area.
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Oil spills injure and kill plants and wildlife and
can often upset delicate ecological balances. Such
environmental damage can threaten public health
and safety by endangering drinking water supplies
and ruining commercial and recreational fishing
areas.
Between 1980 and 1997, the EPA Emergency Response and
Removal Program Contained orWeated288 million gallons of polluted
•water.
EPA emergency response and removal actions
have eliminated risks to the health and safety of
millions of people. One-fifth of all Americans,
over 49 million people, live within 3 miles of a site
where EPA eliminated immediate threats to public
health. Over 850,000 people live less than 500
yards from an emergency response and removal
action site. ..-.-..-._....-•
•£Msgssssss ?i^&m'&^mikjf~:
The need for a response or removal action may
arise anywhere, at any time. For example:
^-•Workers find leaking drums at an abandoned
industrial site;
*.:.:,:.-.=Neighbors of a landfill notice a foul taste or
. odor in their drinking water;
$ A transportation accident spills chemicals or
Oil;
;* Chemicals stored in a warehouse explode;
* Stored tires ignite, creating hazardous smoke
and"liquid runoff; • •- -
* Passers-by discover illegally dumped
chemicals in an abandoned lot; ~
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* An oil or gasoline pipeline ruptures creating a
fire and explosion hazard; or
« A natural disaster such as a hurricane,
earthquake, or flood ruptures chemical or oil
storage tanks.
EPA stands ready 24 hours a day to respond
quickly to protect the public and the environment
whenever hazardous substances or oil are
released. Between 1980 and 1997, the EPA
Emergency Response and Removal Program:
$ Provided almost 155,000 people, about the
population of a city the size of Hartford,
Connecticut, with a safe supply of drinking
water, using either bottled water or a hook-up
to a safe local water system;
* Moved over 26,000 people, more than the,
number of people who work in the
Pentagon—one of the world's largest office
buildings—from the vicinity of very
dangerous sites and gave them temporary
housing until EPA made the site safe;
® Conducted hundreds of oil spill responses per
year to protect public health and sensitive
ecological systems; and
* Contained or treated massive amounts of
waste to make sites safe:
- Over 7 million cubic yards of contaminated
soil and debris, enough to cover 4,390
acres of land a foot deep;
- 981 million gallons of contaminated liquids,
over 70 gallons for every person in the
State of Texas; and
- 288 million gallons of polluted water, more
than twice the daily water use in the State
of Vermont.
These accomplishments are at the heart of a
program with a solid record of success in reducing
and eliminating threats—providing prompt and
effective response and removal actions to keep the
public and the environment safe.
Emergency response and removal actions involve
more than r^poying hazardous substances and oil
from, the site and taking them elsewhere for
disposal. In jrgrowing number of situations, EPA
treats contaminated water or soil rather than
move it to someone else's "backyard." New
cleanup technologies are being used in EPA's
continuing effort to more effectively eliminate
threats created by hazardous substances. For
example, one technology;—bioremediation—: _
involves using bacteria to "eat," or neutralize, the
hazardous substances.
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In addition to performing emergency response
and removal actions at various sites, EPA conducts
long-term cleanup actions at hundreds of
seriously contaminated hazardous substance sites.
These cases can take several years to fully study
the problem, develop the best remedy, and clean
up the contamination. These are the sites most
people think of when they talk about the
Superfund program. EPA does not ignore the
possibility, however, that immediate threats to the
environment or to people who live or work
around such sites may need to be dealt with
before the long-term action is complete.
Response personnel put on protective equipment before entering a
contaminated area.
Within three months of identifying a long-term
cleanup site, EPA evaluates whether there are any
. immediate threats.. If there are, an emergency
response or removal action is taken. EPA then
reevaluates the long-term cleanup site at least
once every year until cleanup is complete to
make sure no new immediate threats arise. In
this review, EPA pays particular attention to sites
that may be susceptible to damage from harsh
weather conditions, facility deterioration, or
vandalism, If new, immediate threats arise, an
emergency response or removal action is taken.
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0<500,000
500,000<2,000,000
2,000,000<5,000,000
5,000,000<10,000,000..
Population Safeguarded is defined as the total population of
ail counties where emergency response actions have been taken.
1980-June 2000*
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1 At S11:00 a.m. on August 21,1999;an EPA.Pn-Scene Coordinator
(OSC) arrived at a tire fire that had been'blazing-In Sycamore, r
Ohio, since it was discovered by security guards at 2:00'a ml
Kirfay Tire Recycling, Inc. operated one of the largest tire piles m
the United States, with an estimated* 20 million tires across 120
acres. Since 1993, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency ai]d
/the Wygndot County Health Department had been working With
Jhe firfhjto bring the site into compliance with Ohio's solid waste
xJfegu|ati!Bn£ In 1998 the" facility was closed until tire&were
^teriqlldailatfirejanes- could be created. Unfortunately, a large,
firer struck fceforeihosB actions were completed. Twenty-one
jgcaf4f|edep|lmeMand^ftany IdcaF citizens responded to the
fre.^Heslde'rits with respiratory disorders and young children
'were eiutlonexJttt slay indoors and close their ^windows, and to
. •avoid opntacfiwlfi'water from nearby -Sycamore Creek until it
> could be tested.
When EPA Emergency Response Personnel araved^ they brought
in additional heavy equipment and operators. Using more than
2?,QQQ tons ef sand and soil, and 60 pieces of heavy equipment,
EPA and local contractors worked together to bury the burning
tires and isolate them from the mam pile. By 6:00 p.m. August
25,1999r the fire area was completely covered and officials
turned their attention fe the fire's side effects. The melting tires
1 had caused two releases of oil into Sycamore Creek, killing
thousands of fish along the creek's seven and one-half-mile
1 > i_ " , /
length^ The oiihad lowered oxygen levels in the water, causipg
the fish kill; consequently/EPA and Ohio EPA set up "bubblers" in
the creek to raise the oxygen levels, In addition, other runoff
from the fire was collected in a pit west of the fire, and EPA set
up a water treatment system to decontaminate the water before
rtentered the creek.
On September 14,1999, EPA completed covering the fire area
with a one-foot clay cap, to smother any smoldering tires and to
minimize any oily runoff by limiting the amount of water that
would soak through the burned area. Fn addition, a
representative from EPA's Public Affairs Department visited
nearby homes, updating residents on the cleanup and following -
up on damage done to personal properties, such as crops. EPA,
in conjunction with local and state response personnel, managed
to put out one of the largest tire fires in the United States in only
five days, minimizing environmental damage and effects on
human health.
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What began as innocent curiosity in the small town of Springfield,
Ohio, in October 1997, quickly became one of the largest
residential mercury cleanups ever handled fay EPA's emergency
•"response and removal program. Tempted by a dare, a group of
•"children, sneaked into a warehouse abandoned by a metal
"recycling companyv; But their mischief soon became dangerous
Tafter-triey.i'^^f^m^^^N^m^6^ also known as.'
^quick'silyeru:;ivle|^ip:^;a'heayy metai th|lj^ry-dahgerous^i
, the. silvery; iiqu]c|^^
brought them:;fe}rlblsferttJnately, one
: police,: which laun|hed local, state, and:^^pf|rnerge
determine their extent of exposure. Two-boys required
medication to clear the dangerous levels of mercury out of their
systems. As a result of the homes check, EPA temporarily
evacuated 69 people from 16 homes that were highly
contaminated. EPA crews then removed contaminated items
such as food, clothes, furniture, and carpets and cleaned the
homes with a special solution. In three of the more severely
contaminated homes, EPA also removed and replaced the •-••'
flooring. Some of the neighborhood sidewalks and yards also had
|tft,b§d,|i5|^and replaced. The Ohio EPA took charge of cleaning
88S*IM!S8®&^.:. _ -—-sjjjy of Springfield boarded up the
In the end, 200 pounds of
Relying on their .extensive emergency re
responders immediately, organized a task:force;of,all the
involved and worked quickly to determine, the extent of the -f: '•'••- ^
problem. :The Springfield police and fire departmentsvlocaland;:,;;,^:;
state healthdepartments/the American Red Cross, andihe Ohio... -
EPA supported EPA with the resulting cleanup, which lasted
iabout a month. Health and environmental.workers checked 38
homes as we|l:as the children's_schdol and tested.140 peopieto.
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EPA's emergency cleanup actions finally brought a long history of
contamination to an end at the Great Lakes Container site in
downtown St. Louis, Missouri, In October 1995, an 11-a.larm fire
at the facility alerted officials to the situation and prompted
several environmental investigations. From 194& until it was
abandoned in 1985, various owners used the 11--acre site as a
drum reclamation business. The Great Lakes Container
Corporation, which owned the, site from 1975 until 1985,
accepted used 55-gallon steel drums from all over the country and
cleaned and repainted as many as 2,500 a day. Hazardous
waste, including solvents, pesticides, and paints, were spilled and
dumped throughout the site. Hundreds of drums were illegally
buried on site instead of being disposed of properly. When the
company left, the site became an illegal dumping ground for
trash, tires, and hazardous debris. The fire started when a stolen
car was set ablaze, igniting the main processing building.
After responding to the fire, EPA personnel discovered that the^
site was severely contaminated with'asbestos, lead,
polychlormated biphenyls (PCBsJ,.and other hazardous
substances. In addition, the basement of the processing building
was filled with thousands of gallons of contaminated water and
sludge. The .cleanup, which marked EPA's 5,000th removal
actitin,:,bega^ It was completed just one
year later! EPA eXcavatetfahd; removed 61,000 tons of
contaminated soil, uncovered and removed 680 drums of
hazardous substances, decontaminated, or demolisfMhuiidings ,
and tanks, and treated and discharged :560,000 gallohs:'.of *•,'-'>,':':•' ••'•
contaminated water. The contaminated soils; were:shipped: off%^C\.
site-to be disppsed of.properiy;:and|he excavated areaswere ':'•'::•••' -.••-.'
backfilled withxle^rfspiy^
and the St. Louis Metropolitan: Sewer^^
restored property; which can be'reuseidifpr,btherindustrial;•'••'.';''':: r'..
purposes in the future. "• "-::'::' ' •";'-• ''."'••:,:':'..;.:''-;v;; :••;:-
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Ton March 28,1993, an oil .pipeline in Fairfax County,
ruptured sending a 100-foot plume of fuel oifmto the air/ ttsU
high-pressure pipeline, owned by the Colonial Pipeline Comp]a$|J
released.an estimated 477,436 gallons of oil into'the envirortfilf
before it could be shut down and fully drained. One of the lar:ge|f
inland oil spills in recent history, the oil affected nine miles
nearby Sugarland Run Creek as well as the Potomac River, SKl
-.• ; *., -.
The Fairfax County Fire Department conducted the initial
to the release, quickly notifying the National Response Centef ^ .
.(NRC). The Federal response was initiated by the Qrt-ScenB"'C:!B|
Coordinator (OSC) from EPA. The OSC received support in the " "•"
form of personnel and equipment from other Federal agencies,
primarily the U.S. Coast Guard. State officials provided technical
support and information. The Regional Response Team (RRT), a
group of representatives from a variety of Federal agencies,
provided valuable advice and guidance regarding recovery actions.
and policy questions that arose during the incident •.
^^^ilieis :as thejesponsible party, :' • •.'
fe'ry; actions;;
* • •• "-
g$t^
||fil|^
^Pllll^^
fcj-;tft ««**#*»''."I M+rtlxWA'Iii!'*»'•«»• .it'i;" R—A'-l'»_ QfiVDli'/o"^'""1"'3''-'*"''"'
pf|fefp|JiM!ved fhe us^bf:skimmers; -
|v;;Through:;triese actions; response
::pif within :13 days
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A long-term cleanup site may entail several
emergency response and removal actions, or
none. In some cases, emergency response and
removal actions may eliminate the need for any
additional cleanup at certain portions of a site.
As a result, emergency response and removal
actions often speed the final cleanup of the site
and may lead to early elimination of the site from
EPA's long-term cleanup program.
Full body suits keep response workers safe from hazardous
substances.
Since the beginning of EPA's Emergency
Response and Removal Program, EPA has
conducted approximately 70 percent of more than
6,000 actions taken. Other Federal and state
agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard and state
departments of environmental protection,
conducted five percent of the actions. The
remaining 25 percent of the responses were
undertaken by those parties responsible for the
pollution, with EPA monitoring the cleanups. EPA
acts in an oversight capacity to ensure that all
studies and work performed by the potentially
responsible party meet EPA cleanup requirements.
EPA then can be certain that, regardless of who
undertakes the response action, the immediate
threat to public health and the environment is
alleviated.
Each time potentially responsible parties
undertake emergency response and removal
actions, Federal cleanup funds are saved.
Cleanup funds can then be used to fund other ;
needed response actions.
PA recognizes that an emergency
response or removal action can
? significantly impact a local community
and the lives of its residents. EPA's Emergency
Response and Removal Program is committed to
helping citizens learn about the nature of the
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Community involvement is essential during emergency response and
removal actions.
emergency by providing critical, timely
information. EPA appoints a spokesperson for
each emergency response to keep the public
informed and to respond to any questions. This
spokesperson calls meetings with people in the
community, responds to inquiries from the media,
and provides local officials with site status
information. EPA also establishes a written record
on the emergency response that is available to the
public.
(800J-5B4-7577 '
^ '*
Regrarr 5
IL;IN", MI/WIN, OH, wi
(312)353-2072
(800) 821-8431*
(800)424-4372*
.* 800 and 888 numbers work only within the Region
except for Region 4
9
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Cooperation with local residents can expedite the
cleanup process and improve solutions.
Community members can assist cleanup efforts by
contributing information about the site's history
and contamination. They can also become
involved by organizing a Community Advisory
Group to serve as a liaison between the
community and EPA, and by accessing the
Technical Outreach Services for Communities
(TOSC) program to help understand emergency
response activities. Good communication and
community involvement helps avoid
misunderstandings and confusion between the
response team and local community members
during an emergency response.
I he first responders at the scene of an
emergency response action are usually
firefighters or state or local police. They
are the first to assess the situation and take
emergency measures such as fighting a fire,
securing the area, or rerouting traffic. Their
assessment and initial activities help the EPA On-
Scene Coordinator determine what EPA actions are
necessary.
f^A>i)V!r-tn^"--'--ri''Ji-t':^-''r^--" !'&^5£'?~"*&f:'.?£'s-^--*'*>'&Zi&'^\-p'.^'.'''*~^-'*-isS.%^''.f''l'--:?*ir'-':
'•••if.!mf!afera&nnnaf'rtiHfin-shMnrnfa A.<
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EPA supports direct state and local government
involvement in response efforts through financial
and technical assistance, as well as numerous
training opportunities. Hundreds of local
responders attend EPA hazardous materials
response training courses each year. This
assistance enhances the ability of local
governments to successfully undertake emergency
actions to reduce or eliminate risks to public
health and to protect the environment.
EPA helps local governments pay for emergency
responses to hazardous substance releases. Funds
for such actions may be beyond those the
community normally budgets for emergency
response. EPA has provided over $2 million to
over 230 local governments, through EPA's Local
Governments Reimbursement Program. Any
general purpose unit of city, county, or municipal
government, or an Indian tribe may apply for
money from this program. Reimbursable response
costs may include efforts to suppress a fire or
putting up a security fence around a site to keep
people away. The local government must first
attempt to recover the cost of the response from
the party responsible for the hazardous substance
release. If this fails, the local government may be
reimbursed by EPA up to $25,000 for each action.
Discharges of oil are not covered unless the oil is
mixed with a hazardous substance.
Response workers practice with equipment used during cleanup
actions.
nother vital force in EPA's efforts to
eliminate hazardous substance and oil
. threats is the EPA Environmental
Response Team (ERT). The ERT is a group of EPA
technical experts who can provide around-the-
clock assistance at the scene of hazardous
substance and oil releases. Sometimes, when an
EPA OS C or any other emergency responder
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comes to the scene of a hazardous substance or
oil release, he or she knows immediately that
extra technical help is needed. The ERT can
provide specialized air monitoring equipment,
hazard assessment, and expert evaluation and
implementation of cleanup technologies. The ERT
has provided expert technical assistance for
responses to hazardous substance releases in
other countries, including Kuwait, Uzbekistan,
Thailand, Latvia, and Mozambique.
The Environmental Response Team provides technical assistance at
Superfund cleanup sites.
Another key function of the ERT is emergency
responder training. Each year close to 6,000
students from Federal agencies, state, and local
emergency response teams, and private industry
enroll in EPA's Hazardous Materials Incident
Response Training program. The courses cover
safety in handling hazardous substances, as well
as technical methods used to identify, evaluate,
and control hazardous substances that have been
or could be released. Emphasis is placed on the
practical application of lecture material through
problem-solving, case studies, and field exercises.
These courses are offered at different locations
around the country.
| he National Response Center (NRG) is
the Federal government's national
communications center for hazardous
substance and oil release reporting. The NRC is
staffed 24 hours a day by U.S. Coast Guard
officers and marine science technicians. The NRC
receives all reports of releases of hazardous
substances and oil, activating the National
Contingency Plan and the Federal government's
response capabilities. It is the responsibility of the
NRC staff to notify the On-Scene Coordinator
assigned to the area of the incident and to collect
available information on the size and nature of the
release, the facility or vessel involved, and the
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party responsible for the release. The NRC
maintains reports of all releases and spills in a
national database. To report an oil or hazardous
substance spill, call the NRC at (800)424-8802.
Visit the National Response Center "Web page at:
http://www. nrc.uscg. mil
PA's Emergency Response and Removal
Program has acted quickly and decisively
(for over two decades), to protect public
health and the environment from immediate
threats. The broad range of emergencies that EPA
must respond to will never be completely
eliminated. Thus EPA stands ready to use its
emergency response and removal authorities to
their fullest extent, today and in the future, to
continue to eliminate threats to human health and
the environment. For more information and
additional copies of this document, call the
Superfund Hotline at -
(800) 424-9346.
Additional information about EPA's Emergency
Response and Removal Program can be found on
the Internet at the following addresses:
Over 850,000 people live less than 500 yards from an emergency
response and removal action site.
Superfund—http://www.epa.gov/superfund
ERT—http://www. epa .gov/programs/ert
Oil—http://wivw.epa.gov/oilspill
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s
. He-US,
tsoa Ageajpy. has ise^a cteaaop. of
the former JolmsonWredkHig site oa
Sink .Hollow Road northeast of
Dispn. The site-is sppkedm'afcty 12
acres and work at tlie sits before ifae
US. EPA beca&e:iavolved:ittc?udei3
• salvage, smelting aad fecihraation
. .
_ ©ecrdinator ' Callie
Bolaiiiijb .s«*f ;&s- team, -expects to
finish the ifrork oo Tsssdav or
ie US.
, ^ommiinit)? involvement spokesman,
said the emeigeacy response team is
' designed .to respond to locartoas
deesned basardoas to bwaaii feealih,
The Bllnois EPA turned the work
:- over to die US'. teatn after-getting a
|5^30« of 120,000 abandoned tees ai •
fee.sfee. The-ffiPA% stsasoa for tanj-
.ing iJ over to She i'^erai agency was
fee discovery of abaaiwioned drams'
coalaining iaciasrrator ash. The sit«
aliso coataJHBd dioxsa, po5ychlorinat-
edfeiptenyls (PCBs), chromium ana
lead.
Tfas -tires are gone. They -were
cleaned up by the IEPA before the
U.S. EPA came to the site, BoSattino
said.
According to Narsete, liiere is .no
ground water contamination, but
some of Use barrels have deteriorated
feom years of exposure to the eie-
Bolaitino said the group worked at
the site for .four days to December to
gafeer the barrels from -various toca-
tioiffi -on site and removed some
asbestos material from a bam.
Souk VaWsy Stewspapwa
Crews from the United
States Environmentai
Protection Agency
donned protective cloth-
ing as they worted to
clean up hazardous
material from an'afoan-
aoned junkyard on
Stoney Point Road n
northeast of i
Thursday. Tbel
vfohnson'
contained -dsterior;
steel barrsls of tojl
that had to be coi
and shipped to a
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'- ,•:•.• • • •,.;• r. -^ •"•••s, fi ;A - '^""Vj
•
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