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SUPERFUND BRIEFLY - A WEEKLY REPORT FOR DELAWARE

Release Date: 11/3/1998
Contact Information: Ruth Podems (215) 814-5540

WILMINGTON DRUM SITE, Wilmington, New Castle County -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has put up a fence around a site at East 7th Street containing drums with acids and other hazardous substances.  Located in a barren industrial area, the site was formerly used by the City of Wilmington as a dump.   Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Center (DNREC) contacted EPA after noticing drums containing liquids and solids while doing a Brownfield study.  Brownfields are abandoned, idle or underused industrial or commercial properties where environmental contamination has hindered redevelopment.  After receiving permission from the owner of the site, EPA and DNREC supervised exploratory excavation operations and soil and groundwater sampling.  Liquid drum samples tested positive for acid.  Others tested positive as a combustible solid, and one drum sample test was found to contain halogens.  Additional studies are being conducted to determine the level of contamination in the drums before EPA begins removal. 


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