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Waste & Recycling April 25, 2015 06:00:33 AM

East Palo Alto: Body found after fire at closed recycling site

Paul Ploumis
ScrapMonster Author
Firefighters who extinguished a blaze in a pre-fabricated metal building at a closed waste management facility in

East Palo Alto: Body found after fire at closed recycling site

LOS ANGELES (Scrap Monster): Firefighters who extinguished a blaze in a pre-fabricated metal building at a closed waste management facility in East Palo Alto early this morning found a body in the debris.

According to a press release from the East Palo Alto Police Department, investigators are working to identify the victim and the cause of the fire.

"At this point, the fire does not appear suspicious," the press release stated.

Firefighters from the Menlo Park Fire Protection District and officers from the East Palo Alto Police Department responded to the fire, which was at the Romic Environmental Technologies facility at 2081 Bay Road.

That facility, whose operations included solvent recycling, fuel blending, wastewater treatment, and hazardous waste storage and treatment, according to Environmental Protection Agency documents, has been closed since 2007. Romic Environmental operated the facility from 1964 till its closure. It had been in operation since the 1950s.

The EPA said of the site, "The primary contaminants in the soil and groundwater are volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Typical VOCs found at Romic are solvents such as trichloroethene (TCE), which were used to clean metal parts. Groundwater contamination extends across most of the site to a depth of at least 80 feet below ground surface. The groundwater is salty and is not a drinking water source."

The EPA in 2008 decided on a means of cleaning up the site, using microbiological organisms that biodegrade the VOCs. That work is ongoing near the Bay, and is expected to expand to other areas of the site.

The site is adjacent to the Ravenswood Open Space Preserve. A poorly maintained road through the area may be a regular parking spot for homeless transients.

Phone calls to the East Palo Alto Police Department and the Menlo Park Fire Protection District for further information were not returned.

Courtesy: www.mercurynews.com

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