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NPL Site Narrative for Union Chemical Co., Inc.
UNION CHEMICAL CO., INC.
South Hope, Maine
Federal Register Notice: October 4, 1989Conditions at proposal (April 10, 1985): Union Chemical Co., Inc., operated a chemical recycling and incineration business during 1978-84 on an 0.75-acre fenced lot in South Hope, Knox County, Maine. The site is bounded on the east by Quiggle Brook and is in the 100-year floodplain. Grassy Pond, an alternate drinking water source for the towns of Camden, Rockport, Rockland, and Thomaston (approximately 22,800 people), is less than 1 mile downgradient.
The site once contained approximately 2,500 drums and over 30 tanks holding 100,000 gallons of flammable materials and sludges. Among the wastes were PCBs, methylene chloride, cyanides, methyl ethyl ketone, and trichloroethylene. An on-site well and Quiggle Brook are contaminated with trichloroethylene, according to tests conducted by the State and EPA.
Union Chemical lost Interim Status in June 1984 under Maine's Uncontrolled Hazardous Substance Act because it failed to satisfy requirements of Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Under RCRA Section 3008, EPA fined the company for failure to submit a complete Part B permit application.
Using CERCLA emergency funds, EPA removed all surface drums, over 100,000 gallons of liquids and sludges from aboveground tanks, and some contaminated soil from the site. The action was completed in November 1984.
Status (June 24, 1988): EPA is proposing to place this previously proposed RCRA site on the NPL because it has lost Interim Status (and hence authority to operate) and has a history of unwillingness to take corrective action. The owner/operator has failed to submit an acceptable Part B permit application, failed to comply with Federal and State administrative orders, and stated that he is financially unable to clean up the site.
State analyses conducted in May and July 1987 found that total volatile organic chemicals in on-site ground water ranged from 250 to 1,000 parts per million. In July 1987, EPA analyses of 43 residential wells within approximately 0.5 mile of the site found trace levels of 1,1-dichloroethane, 1,2-dichloroethane, methylene chloride, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and trichloroethylene. EPA is conducting additional rounds of sampling of nearby residential wells.
On November 4, 1987, EPA and the State signed a Consent Order under CERCLA Sections 122(d)(3) and (h) with 263 potentially responsible parties (PRPs) who generated and/or transported hazardous waste to the site. These parties agreed to (1) conduct a remedial investigation/feasibility study to determine the type and extent of contamination at the site and identify alternatives for remedial action and (2) reimburse the Federal and State governments for their volume share of past cleanup costs.
On January 13, 1988, EPA and the State entered into a second Consent Order under CERCLA Sections 122 (d)(3) and (h) with 25 additional PRPs who generated and/or transported hazardous waste to the site. These parties agreed to the same terms as the original 263 PRPs in the November 1987 order, but at a premium for settling late.
Status (October 4, 1989): EPA has placed this site on the NPL.
On May 23, 1989, a proposed partial Consent Decree in United States vs. Union Research Co., Inc., was lodged with the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine. The partial Consent Decree required 8 of the 11 defendants (the settling parties) to pay 100 percent of the balance of EPA's pre-May 1987 removal costs, plus interest on such costs, and Government enforcement costs for these amounts.
[The description of the site (release) is based on information available at the time the site was evaulated with the HRS. The description may change as additional information is gathered on the sources and extent of contamination. See 56 FR 5600, February 11, 1991, or subsequent FR notices.]
For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on the Internet at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaq.html or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.