EPA completes cleanup of hazardous waste at New York site

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Washington, has completed its cleanup of improperly stored hazardous materials at the Morgan Materials Inc. facility in Tonawanda, New York.

"This array of improperly stored chemicals posed a real danger to the local community,” EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez says. “In just a year and a half, EPA worked with 36 different chemical manufacturers and companies who had legally sold materials to Morgan Materials and got them to recycle thousands of drums and containers totaling some nine million pounds of materials, saving tax-payers approximately $8 million in cleanup costs.”

Morgan Materials, located in northern Erie County at 380 Vulcan St., Tonawanda, purchased and was improperly storing hazardous and nonhazardous materials. EPA’s Superfund cleanup activities began in late November 2016 and concluded in July. The site consists of a series of seven connected warehouse buildings on eight acres located in a mixed industrial and residential neighborhood and near two schools.

EPA found chemical containers throughout the site, often unlabeled, leaking or stored improperly, including flammables, corrosives and oxidizers, which could have leaked or caused fires. Results of EPA’s initial testing showed the facility was full of hazardous substances, such as volatile organic compounds and heavy metals.

“New York State is committed to ensuring that businesses across the state are operating in a responsible way that is protective of public health and our environment,” Abby Snyder, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) regional director, says. “It is our priority to provide a safe and clean environment for residents and to protect our natural resources. Working with EPA, DEC helped ensure the cleanup at Morgan Materials meets state and federal standards and the site has been fully remediated.”

EPA’s efforts began in July 2016 when EPA and the DEC conducted a joint inspection with officials from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, Buffalo Sewer Authority and the town of Tonawanda. EPA also collaborated with New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services’ Office of Fire Prevention and Control.

In November 2016, NYS DEC ordered Morgan Materials to address conditions that presented an imminent danger. Morgan Materials did not comply. EPA then assumed responsibility for security, utilities and fire control systems. To ensure public safety, EPA established air monitoring stations throughout the site.

EPA contacted companies who had sold chemicals to Morgan Materials, resulting in substantial quantities of materials being recycled. Materials that were not recycled were disposed of at off-site permitted disposal facilities.

For further information, visit www.epa.gov/ny/morgan-materials-site-town-tonawanda-new-york.