Site Description
Layout
The facility is situated on a one (1) acre site and has three (3) permitted storage buildings.
- Warehouse - used for various types of hazardous waste storage, drum cleaning,
waste compaction, and metal drum compaction. This storage building has a
concrete base which is coated with an epoxy sealant. In order to prevent
run-on, run-off, and accumulation of rain water, this building is roofed,
has walls, and is surrounded by a six-inch-high concrete curb. Incompatible
material stored in this building are separated by six-inch-high concrete
curbs. Each separate storage area has the capacity to contain a minimum of
10% of the volume of waste stored in that area and 100% of the largest container
in that area.
- Process Building - used for storage of corrosive waste, chemical treatment,
unpacking, and consolidation of lab packs. This storage building also has
a concrete base, is roofed and has walls. This building is also surrounded
by a six-inch-high concrete secondary containment curb. This building houses
two permitted container storage units (CS-1 and CS-3) and five chemical treatment
tanks which will be described later (PT-1, PT-2, PT-5, WW-2 and PT-11).
- Ignitable Storage and Processing Building - used to store flammable wastes in containers and to blend organic liquids in tanks for reuse as secondary fuels. This container storage area has a concrete base, is roofed, and enclosed on three (3) sides. The container storage area is sloped to a low point in the center of the building and has the capacity to contain a minimum of 10% of all waste and 100% of the largest container stored in this area. This building is divided into three separate permitted storage units (CS-4, CS-5, and CS-6) and has four fuel blending tanks (FB-1 through FB-4).
Location
The facility is located outside the 100 year flood plain. The surrounding area within one mile of the facility is classified as mixed commercial, residential, and industrial. The nearest home is 1,100 feet north, the nearest school is 3,500 feet southeast and the nearest surface water (Sims Bayou) is 7,250 feet southeast of the facility. There are no down gradient drinking water wells within one (1) mile.
Security
The entire facility is enclosed by a six (6) foot high chain link fence topped with three (3) strands of barbed wire. The entrances to the facility are controlled by gates which are locked when facility personnel are not present. The facility is patrolled by on-site security personnel during non-operational hours. As required by 40 CFR 264.24, signs which state "Danger - Authorized Personnel Only" are posted on the perimeter of the site. These signs are posted in English and are visible from at least 25 feet.
Facility History
SET Environmental, Inc. (SET) was incorporated in the State of Illinois on April 4, 1979. SET purchased the Houston Facility from Nuclear Sources and Services Inc. (NSSI) on April 8, 1988 and named the facility Treatment One. At the time of purchase, the facility was under interim status and had been operated by NSSI since 1985.
The site was used for agricultural purposes up to 1930. Between 1930 and 1981 the property was privately owned. During this time no entities were identified that would suggest any on-site industrial or commercial activities. Aerial photographs taken in 1969 and 1975 show the property to be vacant. Nuclear Sources and Services, Inc. (NSSI) purchased the property in 1981. NSSI began construction of the existing facility in 1985 for the purpose of hazardous waste treatment and storage.
Prior to purchasing the facility, SET Environmental hired an independent engineering and consulting firm to conduct a pre-acquisition environmental risk assessment of the property. The assessment included sampling of soil and groundwater. There were no signs of contamination observed in the groundwater; however, low concentrations (highest level = 3.1 ppm) of PCB’s were detected in the soil at the southern most end of the facility. The soil showing low concentrations of PCB's was excavated and disposed of in April of 1988.
SET Environmental, Inc was issued a Part B Permit on October 4, 1990 from the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission and December 14, 1990 from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. SET Environmental’s RCRA permit was renewed on August 12, 2002 and will expire on August 12, 2012. The facility name was changed from Treatment One, Division of SET Environmental, to SET Environmental, Inc. in March of 2002 to better convey the comprehensive services offered by the company.