Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Fenwal International Inc., in Maricao, Puerto Rico

On this page:

• Cleanup Status
• Site Description
• Contaminants at this Facility
• Site Responsibility

Cleanup Status

On June 2020, Fenwal International Inc. (Fenwal) conducted soil sampling as part of a RCRA Facility Investigation. Surface (0-2 ft) and subsurface (2-10 ft) soil samples were collected from borings adjacent to the to the four sides of the dike at the former Flammable and Raw Materials Storage Area (AOC-2). Soil samples were analyzed for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Semivolatile Organic Compounds (SVOCs) and non-halogenated compounds. Results indicate soils adjacent to AOC-2 do not have constituents of concern above applicable screening levels for industrial soil. Given the results of the RFI, no groundwater contamination is expected, and No Further Action (NFA) is necessary at the facility. On September 3, 2020, EPA concurred with Fenwal regarding the NFA determination for the facility.

Site Description

Fenwal operates a medical devices manufacturing facility at two (2) properties owned by the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO), located at State Road PR-357, Km. 0.8, in the Municipality of Maricao, Puerto Rico (the Facility). The total surface area of the properties adds up to approximately 15.2 acres. The Facility includes two (2) main buildings with a total of approximately 100,000 square feet used for office, manufacturing, and related operations. The Facility was operated by Travenol Laboratories, Inc., until July 22, 1987, when the operator became Baxter Healthcare Corp. of Puerto Rico. In the year 2007, TPG, a group of investors, bought the Fenwal Division from Baxter Healthcare Corporation and in 2012, Fresenius Kabi bought Fenwal International from TPG. Manufacturing operations at the facility began in May 1972 and continue to this date.

Back on 1980, the facility submitted to EPA the Part A Permit application and obtained Interim Status as a Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facility (TSDF), under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Program. According to RCRAinfo, the two (2) units under interim status were finally clean closed in September 1986. Since 1996, the facility appears as a Small Quantity Generator (SQG).

Contaminants at this Facility   

In 1988, the former Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board (EQB) conducted a RCRA Facility Assessment (RFA) and identified two (2) Solid Waste Management Units (SWMUs) and five (5) Areas of Concern (AOCs). The 1988 RFA recommended further sampling only for AOC-2, referred to as a “Flammable and Raw Material Storage Area”, located in the backyard of the north side of plant #2. AOC-2 consisted of a steel building within a key-fenced area with a concrete floor with dimensions of 31’ long and 20’ wide and surrounded by a curb 8” height and 6” wide, as described in the 1988 RFA. The physical description of AOC-2 has remained the same up to present day without any physical alteration. The description of AOC-2 contained in the 1988 RFA indicated that this area was used as a raw material storage area for Cyclohexanone, Methyl Ethyl Ketone, Isopropyl Alcohol, Chlorine and Dimethyl Chloride. The AOC-2 is no longer used for the storage of flammable and the raw materials, but rather used for the storage of wooden pallets, PVC pipes, acrylic material, and galvanized tubes, which materials are to be used elsewhere in the Facility. At some point in time paper for recycling had also been stored inside AOC-2.

Site Responsibility at this Facility

Cleanup at this site has been addressed by Fenwal with oversight from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under authority of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board (EQB) also participates with EPA in the investigation and cleanup decision-making and oversight.

Site Repository

Copies of supporting technical documents and correspondence cited in the site fact sheet are available for public review at the following location:

US Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2

Caribbean Environmental Protection Division

City View Plaza II – Suite 7000

No. 48 Rd. 165 KM 1.2

Guaynabo, PR 00968-8069

The inspection of some of the documents cited in the site fact sheet may require a formal request under the United States Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).