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Thatcher Company of California, Inc., <br /> 2/15/2019 <br /> Observed a drum containing waste oil, an See Attachment 6, Photo#'s 17-19 <br /> unlabeled drum containing waste from a <br /> Hazardous Waste sulfuric acid spill, and two boxes of Universal <br /> Storage Area Waste fluorescent lamps <br /> Additional Important observations/information regarding inspected areas: <br /> Prior to the walk-through of the facility, Reynon asked DTSC and CUPA inspectors to sign a Visitor Safety form, <br /> which we all did (see Attachment 11). Reynon also asked if any of us were wearing contact lenses, I was the only <br /> person who was wearing contacts. Reynon recommended that all contact lens wearers remove them before the <br /> walk-through because chlorine gas can get trapped between contact lenses and the eyes and cause damage. I <br /> removed my contacts prior to beginning the walk-through. <br /> Chlorine Re-packaging Room: Chlorine gas in a pressurized liquid form is re-packaged in this room. Chlorine gas is <br /> off-gassed through pipes into a white 3,000 gallon scrubber tank in the same building. There was a strong smell of <br /> chlorine and a volatile organic compound (VOC) in this area. Reynon showed me an aerosol can containing an <br /> acrylic gloss (Krylon Cover Maxx) being used on tank valves that was the source of the VOC smell. The label on the <br /> aerosol can of Krylon Cover Maxx warned that it was extremely flammable. The one employee in the room during <br /> the inspection was not wearing a respirator or mask. <br /> Powell Machine/Bleach Manufacturing Room: Bleach is manufactured in the Powell Machine, then tested in this <br /> area. According to Reynon, analytics are done on the manufactured bleach in a sink located adjacent to the Powell <br /> Machine. Waste from the sink enters a square, walled-in open top sump, then is pumped back into the process. Th <br /> room with the sink sump also contains a large sump that encompasses the entire remainder of the small room. A <br /> grate covers the sump (See Attachment 6, Photo#'s 2-7). Reynon stated that the liquid in this sump is pumped into <br /> the big white scrubber tank, and from there to a waste water tank where it goes through a filter. It is then pumped <br /> back into the bleach manufacturing process. According to Reynon, the grates over the sump are removed once per <br /> year and cleaned out according to the facility's SOP for spill cleanup. <br /> When it rains and water accumulates on the floor in this area, employees remove the filter from a shop vac, vacuum <br /> up the water and return it to the bleach manufacturing process. <br /> A scrubber tank was in a corner across from the Powell Machine. Next to the scrubber tank was an open blue <br /> rectangular container. The open container was placed under a leaking pump to capture the leaking fluid. Reynon <br /> stated that this pump was used for recycling caustic, which also goes into the white tank with scrubber solution. <br /> There was liquid in the blue rectangular container, but no lid or label on the container. Reynon stated that this liquid <br /> is pumped back into the process. <br /> Reynon stated that they run the bleach manufacturing process until the scrubber tank is almost full; then remove <br /> 2,000 gallons. Once a month, they drain the tank, wash it, and inspect the spargers (assemblies used to inject gas <br /> into liquid). The wash water is put back through the bleach manufacturing process. Reynon stated that the tank <br /> does not accumulate sludge; the one time it did, the facility changed chlorine vendors, and the problem has not <br /> recurred. <br /> In this area,we collected samples as follows: waste liquid from sink analytics collected from the sump (Sample ID <br /> TCS-09, Attachment 4, Photos 48-52; not hazardous in the Fish Bioassay test); and waste from the blue, open <br /> rectangular container under the pump located adjacent to the scrubber tank (Sample ID TCS-08, Attachment 4, <br /> Photos 43-47; hazardous for corrosivity with a pH of 12.87). <br /> Empty tote storage near cooling towers: Inspected a 330-gallon tote that had a corrosive placard with UN number <br /> 1824(for sodium hydroxide) and a sign saying, "Please do not use; for B gas only'. The tote was near many empty <br /> totes and Reynon described the area as a waste storage area. However, when Clark asked him about the contents <br /> of this specific tote, he remarked that the tote was not actually a waste but happened to be placed by the wastes. <br /> The tote was almost half full of a solution that Reynon stated was a caustic. Reynon stated that the solution had <br /> either come from the bi-gas tank or was going to the bi-gas tank; he was unsure of the contents. The tote was not <br /> labeled with information regarding hazardous properties. We collected a sample from this tote (Sample ID TCS-07, <br /> Attachment 4, Photos 36-42); the solution in the tote was hazardous for corrosivity, with a pH of 12,95. This solution <br /> was stored near an incompatible waste h drotest wash water with a pH of 1.37. <br /> 3of10 <br />