EPA COMPLETES HAZARDOUS WASTE CLEANUP AT THE ALLIED BRAND SITE IN NEWPORT, COCKE COUNTY, TENNESSEE.

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 25, 1995--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it has completed hazardous waste cleanup at the Allied Brand site in Newport, Cocke County, Tennessee. The cleanup took place under the authority and direction of the Agency's Emergency Response and Removal Branch at an estimated cost of more than $2,000,000.

EPA has determined that all appropriate cleanup measures have been completed and no further action is required. Additionally, EPA believes that the cleanup is effective and fully protective of human health and the environment.

EPA responded to an incident at the facility on June 4, 1994, when several people were treated for burns resulting from exposure to fumes from a vented hydrochloric acid storage tank.

The initial phase of the cleanup, initiated on July 6, 1994, included (a) site security to restrict access to the area; (b) transfer of 3,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid to a tanker truck for return to the original distributor; and (c) staging, inventory and sampling of drums and small containers to assess the volume and specific hazards. Approximately 60,000 gallons of liquid wastes and more than 2,000 cubic yards of solid wastes were bulked and shipped off-site for disposal at a permitted facility.

During the cleanup, EPA officials were informed of a nearby abandoned site associated with Allied Brand. The site, Mohawk Milling, contained numerous containers, cylinders, and explosive chemicals. EPA, in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, temporarily relocated twenty-one local residents to facilitate characterization and cleanup of the site. EPA, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and the Knoxville Bomb Squad, detonated shook sensitive and reactive materials which included perchloric acid, nitrates, sodium hypophosphate and picric acid. Residents returned to their homes on October 1, 1994.

Phase II cleanup included (a) soil excavation; (b) backfilling excavated areas with clean soil; and (c) off-site transportation of more than 2,000 tons of contaminated soil for disposal at a permitted facility. All warehouses were inspected after decontamination and are now secured.

The Allied Brand site includes two areas in Newport; 122 Willis Road facility and Mohawk Milling on Main Street. The Willis Road facility is a former chemical processing and repackaging plant that contained packaged products and containers of plating wastes and flammable organics stored in three warehouses. The warehouse at the Mohawk facility contained numerous 55-gallon drums and small containers of flammables, organics, and pesticides.

This site is not on the National Priorities List (NPL) of hazardous waste sites.

Persons interested in obtaining additional site information should contact Michael Henderson, Community Relations Coordinator, at 1-800-564-7577.

CONTACT: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Michael Taylor, 404/347-3555, ext. 6112

Carl Terry, 404/347-3555, ext. 6755