EPA: Abandoned factory has 9,000 gallons of hazardous material

Federal contractors have inventoried 8,868 gallons of hazardous chemicals inside an abandoned factory in the village of Slinger, according to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The existence of the hazardous material, which was catalogued in an old metal plating factory of the former Niphos Coatings Co., was announced by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency official said Monday.

Contractors continue to separate various containers – more than 300 barrels, drums, vats, and large jugs – in preparation for removal and eventual disposal. The EPA will be soliciting bids for the clean-up work from chemical waste disposal companies in the Midwest.

Two of the chemicals found inside, nitric acid and sodium cyanide, are classified as extremely hazardous.

The report said Niphos Coatings, which closed in March 2010, has not filed chemical inventory reports required under federal law.