Tank 110 at the Consolidated Pharmaceuticals Group Inc. plant in Brooklyn Park is a disaster waiting to happen, federal officials say.
On three separate occasions, federal and state inspectors saw the tank, which contained acid, was leaking fumes. A scrubber was leaking liquid acid.
The tank, according to inventory records, is supposed to contain just hydrochloric acid. Tests showed that is also had sulfuric acid, which unlike hydrochloric acid, is highly reactive to water.
“The acid was so strong it affected the probes used to measure acidity,” said Greg Ham, a hazardous waste inspector for the EPA. “If that material was sold, the person would be unaware of what was really inside.”
Tank 110 was just a sample of the mounting violations and hazards at the former antibiotics plant, which now has until the end of the year to clean up or face stiff fines.
The EPA has issued an order giving the company until Nov. 30 to remove hazardous materials, and Dec. 31 to remove pollutants and contaminants.
If the company doesn?t comply, it could be fined $32,500 a day and pay the cost for the EPA to clean it up.
The order gives a shocking litany of the problems surrounding the decades-old plant.
There is only one person maintaining the facility, who has had only 40 hours of training, no chemistry or engineering background and has resorted to manuals to learn how to operate the out-dated machinery, Ham said.
The roof is leaking ? or missing in some places ? and containers underneath those leaks are corroded. The roof trusses are so corroded that a heavy snow load could bring it down, according to the EPA order.
One tank had a bucket to capture liquid with a ph of 11.
According to the order, “any release from the bulk plant has a very high potential to result in human exposure.” The stored antibiotics could causes severe environmental damage if it found its way into the storm drains, the order said.
And as of Friday afternoon, Tank 110 was still on the property, Ham said.
“It?s better than it was, ? but they are not maintaining the facility the way it should be,” Ham said.
The order calls for a clean-up schedule to be submitted by mid-November. Someone must be on the property at all time for fire watch ? county fire officials said the building has faulty sprinkler and alarm systems, and poses a significant fire threat.
A new security system must be in place as well.
“The presence of these hazardous materials, both dry and liquid stored in open containers throughout the site, could cause a potentially catastrophic fire that would impact area residents and schools,” Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold said in a press release.
Charles Schaller, anAnnapolis attorney representing the company, could not be reached for comment.
Ham said the company, whose owner lives in Turkey, has shown a willingness to comply; but since the issue surfaced in May, less than 10 percent of the hazardous material has been removed, Ham said.
“We don?t believe they?re makng a concerted effort,” Ham said. “If they can?t keep their promises, we can step in and take over the response.”
