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EPA TO BEGIN SUPERFUND REMOVAL AT THE ALABAMA PLATING COMPANY IN VINCENT, SHELBY COUNTY, ALABAMA

Release Date: 01/29/1999
Contact Information: Carl Terry, EPA Press Office, 404-562-8325

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it will begin a Superfund hazardous substance removal at the Alabama Plating Company site in Vincent, Shelby County, Alabama on Tuesday, February 2, 1999. A removal is a short-term cleanup intended to stabilize or clean up a site that poses an imminent and substantial threat to human health or the environment. The removal will take place under the authority and direction of the Agency's Emergency Response and Removal Branch (ERRB).

The removal will be conducted in three phases. This initial phase will include:



dismantling of structures and buildings that pose a significant safety hazard;

identification and characterization of all hazardous wastes found in all containers or remaining in spoil piles or disposal areas throughout the site;

segregation of hazardous wastes according to their hazard characteristics and compatible waste-stream consolidation;

decontamination or disposal of vats, tanks, and all other hazardous waste containers and building appurtenances;

-and dismantling and proper disposal of buildings or structures on-site that cannot be effectively decontaminated.

The Alabama Plating Company, Inc., a Delaware Corporation, was formed in 1956. The company is a former metal plating facility that operated a cadmium, copper, and zinc electroplating business, and a hot-dip galvanizing business. The company operated two facilities, a main facility, and a remotely located satellite facility. The removal will focus on the main facility. The EPA's ERRB was contacted by Alabama Department of Environmental Management in July 1998. Actions were taken to secure the site from trespasser access, "No Entry" signs were posted, and an initial on-site evaluation of hazardous conditions and threats was conducted.

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, also known as "Superfund") and the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) authorize EPA to respond to actual or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health, welfare or the environment.

Persons interested in obtaining additional site information are encouraged to contact Waynon Johnson, 404-562-8769 or Sherryl A. Carbonaro, Community Relations Coordinator, at 404-562-8742.