Morgan Materials Site - Town of Tonawanda, New York Community Update April 2017 Site Background The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received a referral from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to undertake a cleanup at the Morgan Materials Inc. Site located in northern Erie County at 380 Vulcan Street, Town of Tonawanda, on November 18, 2016. The Morgan Materials Site is a series of warehouses where hazardous and nonhazardous products were purchased from chemical companies and improperly stored. Morgan Materials purchased off- specification chemicals or excess materials and attempted to resell them to domestic and international entities. The company has accumulated thousands of drums, boxes, super sacks and totes with flammable and corrosive labels and stored them in unsafe conditions throughout the warehouses since 1999. On November 17, 2016 the DEC issued a Summary Abatement Order (SAO) requiring the company to immediately cease purchasing, receiving or acquiring chemical materials. The SAO enabled the DEC to refer the site for cleanup to EPA. Since late November 2016, EPA continues to provide 24-hour security at the site during the cleanup process. Assessment/Cleanup The EPA began by identifying the chemical manufacturer's names and address that sold products to Morgan Materials and have successfully asked many of them to voluntarily remove their chemicals and hazardous waste products from the site. During the past few months over 4,600 drums and small containers containing flammable and corrosive liquids and other nonhazardous materials have been removed from off-site for disposal. In addition, over 2,150 tons of chemicals were removed off-site for disposal, including corrosive and flammable liquids and other environmentally hazardous substances. All hazardous waste materials that remain on-site have been contained segregated and are awaiting shipment off-site. If you have any questions or would like additional information regarding the Site, please contact one of the following: Michael Basile Community Involvement Coordinator 186 Exchange Street Buffalo, NY 14204 716-551-4410 basile.michael@epa.gov or Gez Bushra On-Scene Coordinator (732)-321-6646 bushra. gezahegne@epa. gov https://www.epa.gov/ny/morgan-materials- site-town-tonawanda-new-york ------- Community Update April 2017 EPA's Emergency and Rapid Response Services Contractor, Guardian Environmental Services, Inc. mobilized to the site on March 14, 2017 to begin sampling, bulking, packaging, transporting and disposing/recycling of orphan and unknown containers with chemicals/materials. This process will continue until all materials have been properly identified and taken care of in a safe and effective manner. EPA will ensure that the safety of the community and workers on site are protected during all cleanup activities. Future updates will be provided when appropriate. ------- |