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US Technology Fort Smith

 
Site Contact:
David Robertson
OSC

(robertson.david@epa.gov)

Site Location:
6500 Grand Avenue
Ft. Smith, AR 72904
 scribenet.response.epa.gov/USTechnologyFortSmith

Update 10/21/2024

This site was referred from the EPA Region 6 RCRA Enforcement Program.

The US Technology site, located at 6500 Grand Avenue, Fort Smith, Arkansas, in Sabastian County, is located near the Arkansas River. US Technology opened this location in 2009. The facility is an approximate 30,000 square foot warehouse.

The material stored in the warehouse was spent bead blast media (SBM) recovered in paint removal or surface preparation operations from various third party facilities. The US Technology warehouse was once estimated to contain between 5.2-6.8 million pounds of spent blast media. The spent media was tested by EPA RCRA and found to exhibit hazardous waste characteristics for cadmium, chromium, and lead. 

RCRA enforcement oversaw removal of 6,678 drums and 1246 supersacks equaling 4,840,802 pounds (2,420.4 tons) of SBM conducted by ten responsible generators.

To address the remaining material, EPA conducted Superfund removal activities from June 26, 2022, to August 31, 2022, which included the removal and disposal of SBM at an EPA-approved landfill.  A total of 2,447,540 pounds of SBM were removed and disposed by EPA, which included 4,933 drums containing SBM, numerous pallets, and other material contaminated with cadmium, chromium, and lead containing dust. In addition, the walls, ceiling, and floors of the warehouse were cleaned to remove significant amounts of SBM “dust” which contained the heavy metals mentioned previously.  The wastes were removed and transported for disposal to the Lone Mountain Landfill in Waynoka, Oklahoma. On-site work was completed in October, 2023.

 

 


Warehouse looking north. Note drums in northwest corner. There are 29 drums behind the wall seen on the right side of the photo. West bay door that was previously damaged. Northwest corner of warehouse. 55-gallon drums stacked 5 pallets high. The drums appear to contain spent blast media. According to RCRA, there are 4000 drums stored here. UST warehouse south and east sides East door North doors left door open approximately 3.5' Damaged north door. Area of potential contamination north of facility. Stained soil on north side of facility. Reproduction of photo from 3/14/22 photo Twelve drums stored outside facility. Those that were open appeared to contain trash. Two of 13 drums stored immediately inside the north door. The drums appear to contain 5-gallon pails labeled Open five gallon pail stored within drum inside the north door. Overview of 13 drums that contain five gallon pails as well as 16 drums Open drums appear to contain spent blast media. Drums containing spent blast media. Southeastern area of UST warehouse. Crushed drum inside the north door. North bay of warehouse. Two silos one standing and one on its side can be seen. Both appear to be empty. Northwest corner of warehouse. 55-gallon drums stacked 5 pallets high. The drums appear to contain spent blast media. According to RCRA, there are 4000 drums stored here. Debris underneath standing silo. Supersacks containing spent blast media in the northeastern area of warehouse. All supersacks were removed from the site by February 21, 2022. Supersacks and drums containing spent blast media in the northeastern area of warehouse. All supersacks and most drums were removed from the site by February 21, 2022. Aerial of site showing areas of potential contamination. Photo was taken in 2016, but the month and day are unknown. 2019 photo of site flooded during Arkansas River flood. North bay door damaged during February 21, 2022 burglary. EPA began setting up the air monitoring telemetry system. EPA began setting up air monitoring telemetry systems. EPA begins air monitoring during on-Site activities. EPA begins to powerwash the inside of the facility building. EPA continued to power wash the interior walls. EPA received the command post trailers. EPA began to lay out a gravel driveway for the Site. EPA began power washing the facility floors. EPA completed the power washing of the facility's interior floors. EPA continued to clean the facility while utilizing air monitoring to ensure the workers were dressed in the proper PPE for the task. EPA continued to power wash the facility's floors. 55-gallon drums stacked in northwest corner of warehouse During cleanup process dust was kept down using water misters, resulting in a wet floor. Boom berms were used to prevent any off-site spread of water from this process View of stacked 55-gallon drums in the Northwest corner of warehouse. View of work operations Dust suppression system 55- gallon drums stacked in northwest corner of warehouse. View of dust suppression prior to daily work activities. View of 55-gallon drums in the northwest corner of warehouse. View of decontamination of roll-off vehicle exiting the exclusion zone. View of drums stored outside in the northeast corner of property being moved inside warehouse. View of drums stored outside in the northeast corner of property being moved inside warehouse. View of misting system installed on roll-off box for dust suppression during work activities. View of contaminated dirt in steel-lined loading dock located on north side of warehouse. View of clean steel lined loading dock located on north side of warehouse. View of scraping and shoveling of contaminated dirt in steel-lined loading dock located on north side of warehouse. View of fine dust from dirt road being blown eastward due to slight gusts of wind. View of the use of heavy equipment to unstack drums. View of one drum processing station with heavy equipment actively crushing a drum. Two bay doors on the north and south sides of the warehouse are open, enabling roll-off trucks to enter and exit. Decon station staged at each door. Observing a team member wearing Level C gear staging drums in the processing station. View of team using expandable foam to seal any gaps. View of the disposal progression of the stack of drums. View of the disposal progression of the spent sand blast media drums. View of drum processing activities View of the disposal progression of the spent sand blast media drums and staged pallets ready for disposal. Image of ERRS daily disposal log. View of unknown liquid drums in warehouse awaiting decontamination prior to relocation. View of unknown liquid drums relocated in office storage area after decontamination. ERRS utilizing a squeegee to remove the water from the warehouse exit, to prevent contamination from spreading beyond the warehouse. Overview of the disposal progression of the spent sand blast media drums for disposal. ERRS personnel rinsing the exterior of the roll-off containers to prevent the spread of contaminated material from the warehouse. START relocated DustTrak Station 3 to approximately 6 feet south of its previous position to assist ERRS in placing the pressure washer next to the southern warehouse entrance. The pressure washer was delivered to the site. Decontaminated equipment ready for demobilization. Initiated the removal of the wood pallets from the warehouse and loading them into roll-off boxes for disposal. On-going wood pallet disposal at the beginning of the day. ERRS decontaminating the small bulldozer. United Rentals arrived at the site to pick up equipment. Wood pallet disposal status at the end of the day. Image of ERRS final daily drum disposal log The last two roll-off boxes loaded with crushed wood pallets. ERRS commenced pressure washing operations inside the warehouse structure. The interior of the warehouse structure after the wood pallets were removed. The cleared interior of the office area. The remaining equipment after completing the clearance of the office area. Following the removal of the rental light posts, ERRS installed lamps and extended power extension cords across the ceiling of the warehouse to ensure illumination in the warehouse in the morning. ERRS continued with pressure washing activities on the interior ceiling within the warehouse structure. Empty warehouse after final removal of waste Waste in process of labelling for final shipment.