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EPA Completes Short-Term Cleanup in Bainbridge

Release Date: 09/27/2004
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(#04148) NEW YORK -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has completed a short-term cleanup at the Bainbridge Paint site in Bainbridge, New York. EPA provided oversight during the removal by three paint manufacturers of hundreds of pails and cans containing flammable paint. Because the facility was abandoned, EPA called on the paint manufacturers to perform the work. "We were able to clean out the potentially hazardous paint containers using very little taxpayer money," said EPA Regional Administrator Jane M. Kenny. "This is a good example of what can happen when EPA and private parties work together to achieve a mutually beneficial goal." The Bainbridge Paint site consists of a small wooden building, with a semi box trailer backed into the rear portion of the building to serve as an additional storage area. The site was most recently a storage area for a paint contractor who painted bridges for the New York State Department of Transportation . EPA performed an assessment of the site in December 2003, and found over 300 five- gallon pails and approximately 100 one-gallon paint cans inside the building. Almost all of the paint pails were labeled as flammable. Most of the containers were in good condition, and EPA contacted the manufacturers of the paint to get them to address their respective materials. The three paint manufacturing companies : 1. Carboline 2. Valspar 3. The Sherwin-Williams Company agreed to cooperate with the expedited pickup, transportation and disposal of their material. Removal of the paint material was completed in early July, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will collect samples to confirm that the on-site soil is not contaminated.