LincolnElecAdvisory

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Citizens and Media Advisory

The following information is being provided to ensure the general public and the news media receive timely and accurate information regarding the Countywide Recycling and Disposal Facility.

March 4, 2008

Contacts

Tim Vandersall	Will Flower
General Manager	Corporate
Countywide Recycling & Disposal Facility	Republic Services, Inc.
Telephone: 330-874-3855	Telephone: 954-288-0388

Countywide Recycling and Disposal Facility received a letter dated February 26, 2008 from the Lincoln Electric Company based in Cleveland, Ohio, informing Countywide that waste originally identified by Lincoln Electric as non-hazardous and deposited at Countywide could be possibly considered F006 hazardous. Lincoln Electric notified the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) on December 21, 2007 of this issue. Countywide was not informed of Lincoln’s determination until February 26 and notified Ohio EPA and the Stark County Health Department (SCHD) of its receipt of the Lincoln Electric letter.

According to Lincoln Electric, the waste deposited at the landfill consists of filters that are used at the Lincoln Electric plant, and an estimated 1,000 pounds of ion exchange filter resin along with wastewater treatment filters. Filters were disposed of monthly according to the letter. Analytical reports done by Lincoln Electric show that this waste does not exhibit any hazardous characteristics, such as metal leaching or reactivity with other substances. Lincoln Electric’s original determination was that the resin and filters were not hazardous waste. Lincoln determined that the resins and filters might be classified as hazardous only because they are used in electroplating wastewater treatment.

After obtaining interpretive guidance from the Ohio EPA, Lincoln Electric reclassified the resin and filters as F006 hazardous waste because of this use with the electroplating wastewater.

Countywide provided the required verbal notification to the Ohio EPA and SCHD, passing along the information contained in Lincoln Electric’s letter to Countywide. Countywide is in the process of reviewing the information contained in the letter from Lincoln Electric and intends to conduct its own investigation in order to prepare a written follow up report to the Ohio EPA. This written report will be submitted to the agency within the required seven days.

In the interim, Countywide’s experts do not believe that this material poses any threat to human health or the environment due to the fact that the analytical testing data confirms that the materials do not show any hazardous characteristics.