St. Joseph warehouse must stop handling hazardous materials

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) -- A pesticide company has been ordered to clean up chemical spills and stop handling hazardous materials at a warehouse that Environmental Protection Agency officials have called a "death pit."

The agency alleged in an administrative order issued Wednesday that the HPI Products warehouse "may constitute an imminent or substantial endangerment to health or the environment."

The EPA reported the company has six storage facilities in the city. The order affects only the main warehouse, but EPA officials were taking samples of chemicals stored at a second facility Thursday.

The agency noted in a news release that it is inspecting other locations and will deal with any violations it finds.

The EPA believes the main warehouse contains drums of unknown chemicals, including some containers that were leaking and corroded.

Also, the building is in poor condition, according to an inspector, and it flooded as recently as January.

According to the administrative order, inspectors were at the main warehouse in November and December.

A representative with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources observed "container after container of unknown material including an open tank and drum as well as a 55-gallon drum labeled 'bottles dumped with no label on them 9-17-03."'

Last week, EPA searched the site and determined HPI had not addressed the problems identified last year.

Under the order issued Wednesday, the company has 21 days to complete an inventory of all containers, then dispose of all waste acids, sludge, canceled pesticides and unusable chemicals.

HPI has the right to request a conference to discuss the order.

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Information from: St. Joseph News-Press, http://www.stjoenews-press.com