KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — Officials with Kaufman County, with the assistance from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), are investigating potentially hazardous materials being stored in a Forney warehouse.
KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — Officials with Kaufman County, with the assistance from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), are investigating potentially hazardous materials being stored in a Forney warehouse.
The Kaufman County Fire Marshal’s Office was first notified of individuals wearing respirators unloading barrels into the warehouse in the 11000 block of North Profit Row. Upon their arrival, fire marshals determined the building did not have a certificate of occupancy and placed a Fire Marshal’s Order on the door barring anyone from entering the warehouse.
Approximately 100 55-gallon barrels were observed in the building, some of which were labeled as hazardous material, according to Kaufman County Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Steve Howie who added the integrity of some of the barrels had been compromised. Officials say there has not been a leak.
A representative of the Terrell-based company, Conecsus, who has been leasing the warehouse since March, told officials the materials were nonhazardous and mislabeled, officials said.
Kaufman County Fire Marshal Randy Richards said the materials had been determined as hazardous materials in California and regulated materials in Texas. However, according to Richards, the hazard material placards on the barrels had not been changed upon reaching their final destination in Texas.
A TCEQ Emergency Response team from Fort Worth, Texas, is assisting in the investigation.
A certified environmental company was called to relocate the material Friday night to their Terrell facility — a task which is expected to drag into tomorrow. the material was being stored in Forney as overflow to the Terrell facility.
According to Conecsus’ website, the company is the “largest secondary Tin-Lead recycler in the Western Hemisphere” which recycles e-waste for resale.
Under certain circumstances and while permitted, certain hazardous materials could be stored in the warehouse, according to Richards who said those conditions had not been met as of Friday.
This is a developing story.
