The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently concluded an interim response under the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act (HSCA) for the Pool Doctor-Beaver Alkali Products Site in Rochester, Beaver County.
This means hazardous chemicals that had been improperly stored and disposed of on the site have been removed.
DEP initiated the interim response a year ago. The agency found drums and containers of unknown liquids and solids from a chemical business and laboratory that once operated on the site had been improperly stored and disposed of in dilapidated buildings.
DEP contractors processed approximately 1,000 containers of hazardous waste materials for disposal or recycling.
DEP originally allocated $375,000 to clean up the site, but final costs were more than $3 million.
Additional costs came from a fire in a collapsed building that released chemicals, structural issues within the remaining building, providing round-the-clock security, and the discovery of additional storage areas, a stock of hazardous chemicals, and buried drums.
“Unexpected emergencies like this one, involving potentially deadly chemicals, shows the need for secure funding for the HSCA program,” DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell said.
DEP will post a final project report on the project’s website and will include a full listing of all substances removed.