Talks Start Friday on Cleaning Up Toxic Site

Negotiations to clean up remaining hazardous waste at Escondido’s Chatham Brothers Barrel Co. will begin in Long Beach Friday between state officials and representatives of 91 companies, a California state official said.

The company representatives are expected to meet in Long Beach with members of the state Department of Toxic Substances Control and submit a workable cleanup proposal for the 5-acre Chatham Brothers site.

“At this point, we are not accusing them of breaking the law,” said department spokesman Allan Hirsch. “We are hoping that the 91 companies will send representatives and give us a combined ‘good faith’ offer in 60 days, and, if not, we would proceed with the cleanup ourselves and go after them in court.”

The state has already taken out more than 11,000 tons of toxic waste from the facility at a cost estimated at $7.9 million, but the immediate concern is with ground-water contamination.

“The contaminated ground water is moving off the site and into the surrounding areas,” Hirsch said. “We hope the companies will present a plan to remove the contaminated water and treat it in some way.”

Some of the chemicals causing the problem are industrial solvents such as trichloroethylene (TCE) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) Hirsch said.

Several of the companies expected to attend Friday’s meeting are large and rank in the Fortune 500 category, Hirsch said.

“We’re not only concerned with the big companies but the little ones as well. We are running the full gamut,” Hirsch said.

Hirsch said more than 190 companies were discovered through extensive record research by the state. The companies were identified as those that dumped toxic waste at the facility from 1941 to 1981.

But, because of the lack of sufficient evidence, many on the original list were dropped, Hirsch said.

“For those (remaining) on our list there is compelling evidence,” he said.

The Chatham family bought the site on Gamble Lane and Bernardo Avenue in 1941 and began operating petroleum distribution and an oil recovery processing plant there. In 1948, a still was added to reclaim kerosene and hydraulic oil. Solvent reclamation at the site began in 1965.

The dumping of hazardous waste continued until the 1970s, and the property was sold in 1981. When the new owner declared bankruptcy, the land reverted to Robert and Thomas Chatham.