Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Rola An Esmark Company in Du Bois, Pennsylvania
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Site Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Institutional/Engineer Controls
- Land Reuse
- Site Responsibility
Cleanup Status
In November 2003, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) performed an Environmental Indicator visit.
In April 2009, EPA made a determination that human exposures and groundwater releases at the site were under control and therefore no further Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) corrective action was necessary. There are no institutional controls at this time.
EPA issued a RCRA corrective action Statement of Basic (SB) that explains no further action is required to make this property suitable for any land use on June 4, 2009.
Site Description
The former Rola facility is located at 67 Hoover Avenue in DuBois, Pennsylvania, which is currently occupied by Paris, Incorporated. The site can be found at 41o 07' 17" north latitude and 78o 41' 17" west longitude of the DuBois, Pennsylvania quadrangle topographic map.
The areal extent of the site is approximately 5.4 acres and consists of one building. The building is two stories and is approximately 800 feet long and 400 feet wide (NUS June 3, 1991). The entire facility is surrounded by a paved surface except for occasional areas covered with crushed stone. Parking areas are located on all four sides of the building. The site is surrounded on all sides by a six-foot chain-linked fence.
Rola leased the property from the Clearfield County Industrial Development Authority for an unknown period of time until 1986 (NUS January 22, 1991). During this period, the site was used to manufacture radio transmitters/speakers (USEPA June 11, 1982). No information is available in regard to specific operations carried out by Rola at the DuBois facility. According the June 3, 1991 Preliminary Assessment of Rola, An Esmark Company written by NUS, the facility was possibly used to install magnets and speaker cones on metal frames, following production of parts at the Rola Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania plant.
In the late 1980s to early 1990s, Rola changed its name to International Jensen (NUS January 21, 1991).
Paris purchased the facility in approximately 1986. Presently, the site is occupied by Paris, which uses the facility to launder clothing, rugs, health-care linens and rented uniforms. Laundering equipment on-site includes washing machines, dryers and two dry-cleaning machines. Paris manages large quantities of laundry detergents, fabric softeners, bleaches and hydrogen peroxide on-site. The majority of the detergents and fabric softeners used at the facility are delivered to the facility via tanker trucks and pumped into outdoor ports which lead directly into the Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) storage tanks located on the second floor. Theses tanks directly feed the laundering products into the six (600-pound capacity) washing machines located on the first floor. Bleach, hydrogen peroxide, detergent and fabric softeners for smaller washers, as well as detergents and fabric softeners for medical laundry are delivered in drums. These drums are stored in the receiving area, inside the building. It should also be noted that medical laundry is managed and washed in a separate area on the first floor of the building. The medical laundry area also utilizes a separate lint "shaker". Laundry wastewater from the medical laundry is discharged to the sanitary sewer.
Paris conducts dry cleaning on-site, in the dry cleaning room. In this room, two dry cleaning machines are operated along with two small washing machines. The facility purchases between 400 and 700 gallons of perchloroethylene (or tetrachloroethylene) (PCE) per year to operate the dry cleaning machines (Paris, July 2003).
At the present time, the only hazardous wastes managed at the Paris, DuBois facility are waste PCE filters used in the dry cleaning machines. Safety Kleen disposes of these filters off-site (PADEP July 1, 2003).
A portion of the site was rented by Riverside Markets as a reclamation center from approximately 1990 until the mid-1990s (NUS, June 3, 1991). Processes conducted by Riverside Markets included sorting of damaged supermarket merchandise to determine what items could be salvaged. No hazardous waste was involved in these processes. During the site visit, it was noted that Paris was in the process of selling 0.64 acres of their property to the DuBois School District, for use as a soccer field, and purchasing 0.64 acres of land from the school district, to use for additional parking. The overall dimensions of the Paris property will not change resulting from this exchange.
The facility had one underground storage tank (UST) located on on-site. This UST was used for storage of heating oil and was removed prior to purchase of the property. The capacity of the UST was not available, nor was documentation regarding samples collected at the time of removal.
Contaminants at this Facility
Hazardous wastes generated on-site by Rola include Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) waste identification numbers D001 (ignitable), F002 (spent halogenated solvents and still bottoms from solvent recovery), F003 (spent non-halogenated solvents and still bottoms from solvent recovery), and F005 (spent non-halogenated solvents and still bottoms from solvent recovery). All hazardous wastes were listed under process code S01, indicating drum storage. According to the June 3, 1991 NUS Preliminary Assessment, Rola generated approximately 34,500 kilograms (kg) of D001 waste annually, including adhesive waste (methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), toluene, xylene, acetone, n-butyl acetate), various solvents (1,1,1-trichlorethene, trichloroethylene, organic peroxides), paint thinner waste and paint sludge (methyl isobutyl ketone, isopropyl alcohol, ethanol). Approximately 4,500 kg of F002 waste were generated annually; in particular, Rola generated 1,1,1-trichloroethane. Rola generated approximately 200 kg of F003 wastes (xylene, methyl isobutyl ketone and ethyl acetate) and approximately 400 kg of F005 waste (toluene and MEK) annually.
In April 2009, EPA made a determination that human exposures and groundwater releases at the site were under control and therefore no further RCRA corrective action was necessary.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
Institutional Controls were not required at the facility.
Land Reuse Information at this Facility
The facility is under continued use.
Site Responsibility at this Facility
RCRA Corrective Action activities at this facility have been conducted under the direction of EPA Region 3 with assistance from PADEP.