Background/ History
The GE Lighting LLC St. Louis Lamp site is located at 6251 Etzel Ave. in St. Louis. This facility began operating in 1912 as an assembly plant for 40-100 watt incandescent light bulbs. The general processes at the facility included the electrostatic coating of bulbs, mount assembly, getter application, formulation of rosin cement, application of rosin cement to lamp bases, bulb assembly and packaging. The plan operated twenty four hours a day, five days a week, before it closed in February 2007.
A variety of hazardous wastes were produced as part of the facility operations. GE Lighting stored the hazardous waste in a used spill containment tank and 55-gallon drums in a hazardous waste storage area. GE Lighting operated the hazardous waste drum and tank storage areas under the “interim status” portions of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
Cleanup Summary
GE Lighting closed the storage areas in 1990. Any drums previously used to store hazardous materials were removed from this site. GE Lighting no longer stores hazardous waste at the site for more than 90 days. GE Lighting now operates a less than 90-day storage area, managed under generator storage requirements in 10 CSR 25-5. GE Lighting was not subject to the permitting requirements of the Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Law or federal Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments for post-closure care because they “clean closed” the interim status hazardous waste areas.
GE Lighting is subject to corrective action because they completed closure of the interim status hazardous waste management units after the effective date of the federal Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments. After the department completed a Closed Facility Oversight Inspection in 2009, the department recommended that GE Lighting conduct additional sampling and analysis of soil along the fence line of the neighboring property where drums were discovered during the inspection. GE Lighting has met with department staff to discuss voluntarily entering into a Letter of Agreement, in an effort to simplify and streamline the corrective action process. The facility is currently vacant.
