The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered Motors Liquidation Co. (MLC), formerly General Motors Corp. (GM), to remove materials and soil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from portions of the company’s Superfund site in Massena, N.Y. Detroit-based MLC intends to demolish several buildings at the site.
“EPA’s oversight of the demolition of the GM facility, including the proper handling of PCBs, is critical in ensuring the safety of nearby residents and workers,” says EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck. “The demolition will lead to a full cleanup at the site and will make the property available for redevelopment and productive reuse.”
Under EPA’s order, MLC will be responsible for additional sampling, decontamination of the building and its contents, demolition of the building, removal of PCB-contaminated soil beneath the building and restoration of the area. EPA’s oversight will ensure that any PCB-contaminated material and soil handled as part of demolition and excavation operations at the site comply with all federal and state laws and regulations.
The GM facility operated as an aluminum die casting plant from 1959 to May 2009. Until 1980, PCBs were a component of hydraulic fluids used in die casting machines at the facility. During GM’s operations, PCB-laden sludge from one of the industrial lagoons and from the wastewater treatment plant was periodically dumped in two on-site disposal areas and in an on-site landfill.
Additionally, GM or MLC has donated or auctioned off manufacturing equipment and office furniture from the site, some of which has been recently shown to contain PCBs. MLC has offered to collect this equipment or furniture at no cost to the buyer or recipient.