Reuse and Benefits to the Community
Abex Corporation Site
Technical Appendix
Positive Impacts: Employment Information for On-Site Jobs
Each on-site business was researched in the Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) database, from which the number of
employees and sales volume information was gathered. D&B is a company that provides information on
businesses and corporations. It maintains a database of over 179 million companies globally and over 53 million
professional contact names using a variety of sources including public records, trade references,
telecommunication providers, newspapers and publications, telephone interviews and various other sources
(http://www.dnb.com/). Most of the businesses located on the Abex Corporation Superfund site were not in the
D&B database. When businesses were not found in the D&B database, alternative methods were employed
(e.g., annual reports, company websites, etc.) to obtain information on the number of employees and sales
volume.
The Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number is a unique nine-digit identification number assigned by
D&B to each business and its location within the D&B database for the purpose of identifying each business.1
Businesses featured in the "Reuse and the Benefit to Community: Abex Corporation" case study that did not
report to D&B include Fire station 1, Community Health Center and Charles A. Fisher Memorial Academy.
Alternative methods for determining employment and sales for these businesses are listed below.
Fire Station 1: 25 employees
The number of employees was estimated based on the City of Portsmouth's eight fire stations, which employ a
total of 206 employees. The average pay scale for firefighters in Virginia is $44,086.90 - $57,313.10 / Year
Permanent Full Time. For the purposes of the case study, the midpoint was estimated as the average salary,
$50,700.
Portsmouth Sheriffs Office 2009 Annual Report
http://www.portsmouthva.gov/fire/Station%201.aspx
http://www.virginiafirefighters.com/iobs.htm
Hampton Roads Health Center: unknown number of employees
For security reasons, the health center will not release employee numbers and there is not enough available
information for an accurate estimate.
http://www.portshealth.org/
Charles A. Fisher Memorial Academy: 12 employees
Interview with Captain Roberts, 9/1/2010
Portsmouth Sheriffs Office 2009 Annual Report
http://www.portsmouthva.gov/pso/pdfs/CA/2010SeptComAdvisor.pdf
Massimo Zanetti Beverage Distribution Center: 68 permanent employees and seven temporary
E-mail from Human Resource Manager Martie King, 5/16/2011
1 D&B updates its company reports on an annual basis. Data from D&B used for this analysis were collected in
May 2011.
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Positive Impacts: Wage and Income Information for On-Site Jobs
Wage and income information was gathered using the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. The BLS is a
governmental statistical agency that collects, processes, analyzes and disseminates essential statistical data to
the American public, the U.S. Congress and other federal agencies in the broad field of labor economics and
statistics. The data provided by the BLS have high standards of accuracy and consistently high statistical quality
and impartiality in both subject matter and presentation.
Average weekly wage data for each of the businesses located at the former Abex Corporation property were
collected from the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages database. Average weekly wage data were
identified by matching the six-digit North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes corresponding
with each type of business with weekly wage data for corresponding businesses in Portsmouth County; if wage
information was not found at the county level, then wage information was sought by state or national level,
respectively.2 To determine the annual wages (mean annual) earned from jobs generated by each of the
business located at the former Abex Corporation property, the average weekly wage figure was multiplied by
the number of weeks in a year (52) and by the number of jobs (employees) for each of the businesses.
Table 1: Abex Corporation Businesses: NAICS Code and Title, Average Weekly Wage and Annual Wage per
Employee
On-site Business
NAICS Code3
NAICS Title
Average
Weekly Wage
(2009)
Annual Wage
(Mean
Annual) per
Employee
(2009)
Fire and Rescue
922160
Fire Protection
$975.00
$50,700.00
Massimo Zanetti
4349311
Warehousing
$775.72
$40,337.44
Charles A. Fischer
Academy
611513
Education and Health
Services
$757.19
$39,373.88
Average Weekly Wage data source: BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (2009) Portsmouth/Norfolk County
http://www.bls.gov/cew/ or BLS Current Employment and Statistics (National) http://www.bls.gov/ces/data.htm.
Annual wage (mean annual) per employee is based upon BLS Average Weekly Wage data.
aNAICS code provided in D&B unless otherwise noted.
Table 2: Abex Corporation Property Businesses: Employees, Wages and Total Annual Wages
On-site Business
Employees3
Annual Wage (Mean Annual)
per Employee
Total Annual Wagesb
Fire and Rescue
25
$50,700
$1,267,500
Massimo Zanetti
75
$40,337.44
$3,025,308
Charles A. Fischer
Academy
12
$39,373.88
$472,486.56
aEmployee data are from D&B, except where employee data are estimated using methods described previously in the appendix.
bTotal annual wage figures were derived by multiplying "Employees" by "Annual Wage (Mean Annual) per Employee."
2 D&B uses six-digit NAICS codes to classify businesses reporting to D&B. For businesses not reporting to D&B,
assumptions were made about the most appropriate NAICS code for those particular businesses.
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Abex 2007 Five Year Review: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/fiveyear/f2007030001694.pdf
Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority: http://www.prha.org/index.html
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