Source: http://www.wbiw.com, September 18, 2014
A Walmart returns processing center in Indianapolis is contaminated with a toxic substance, and WTHR 13 Investigators learned hundreds of workers at the evacuated facility are now undergoing medical testing to see if they were exposed.
Bob Segall and Sandra Chapman, of WTHR 13 reports, the contamination involves a massive warehouse at 3333 North Franklin Road, where logistics company Exel processes merchandise returned from Walmart retail stores. The warehouse now sits empty after Exel ordered nearly 600 full-time and contract workers to evacuate the processing center on August 20.
On that day, supervisors met with employees at 3:45pm to announce the facility was shutting down immediately. During the meeting, employees were not told the reason for the shut-down, only that they would continue to receive their normal pay and benefits and would not return to work until further notice, according to a longtime worker who asked not to be identified.
Five days later, Exel managers again met with employees at a nearby hotel to explain Walmart discovered the presence of a strange substance within the facility. Testing showed the substance to be PCBs or polychlorinated biphenyl, a synthetic organic chemical compound that is highly toxic and classified by the US Environmental Protection Agency as “probable human carcinogens.” The EPA says studies in animals provide conclusive evidence that PCBs cause cancer.
Over the past two weeks, Exel employees have been reporting to an east-side medical laboratory for blood tests, which Exel hopes will shed light on which employees were exposed to the PCBs and what impact – if any – the exposure might have on their health.
“It’s a situation that continues to evolve, and we’re working diligently with Walmart to understand it more,” said Exel Vice President of Communications Lynn Anderson. “We took an overly cautious role and decided we wanted to get out of the building right away. We are really trying to understand the extent of the contamination and the exposure and what it means for the future and the facility.”
A Walmart company spokesperson says that Walmart made a joint decision with Exel to close operations “out of an abundance of caution.”
“Walmart immediately hired an environmental consulting firm after a contractor servicing a return center we lease discovered the presence of PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls. Additional testing confirmed PCBs were present in the building, which is operated by a contractor, Exel Inc. We made a joint decision with Exel to close the facility out of an abundance of caution.
“Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) have been informed and are investigating this matter. We are cooperating with the investigation, and early indications suggest that the contaminant is in the building materials.
“We have made arrangements for returned products from our stores to be sent to other return centers.”
Unusual particles discovered
Anderson says the contamination was discovered by accident, while equipment was being moved inside the plant. That’s when workers found an unusual residue and “particles that didn’t look right.” Walmart hired a third-party company to test the residue, and according to Exel, the testing revealed the presence of PCBs.
How much PCBs and where did they come from? Exel and its employees are still looking for answers.
“The source is still an unknown, and Walmart has all the test results. We do not have those,” Anderson says. “We are trying to get more information.” Walmart said tests indicate the PCBs are in the building materials.
Exel plans to begin its own independent testing at the abandoned warehouse this week. In the meantime, it is actively looking for another facility to resume its operations. “We are searching to identify another site and Walmart is looking for other sites so we can get operations back up and running,” Anderson said. “We were hoping, best-case scenario, that might happen in early October, but now sometime later in October looks more realistic. It’s a moving target. I know our employees want to get back to work.” Exel has not ruled out the possibility of returning to the contaminated facility, but says that is unlikely – at least in the short-term.
While the companies conduct their investigations, Exel’s 420 full-time Indianapolis employees are getting their full salaries and benefits. Many of the company’s contract workers — supplied by private contractors and through temp agencies — are currently out of work because of the facility shut-down.
Wednesday morning, a Return Center worker filed a lawsuit against Walmart Stores, Inc. and asked the court to make it a class action complaint for all workers at the center. Tammy Longest has worked for Exel for more than 10 years. Her case accuses Walmart of negligence and asks that the company commit to ongoing screening of the workers in the future for potential PCB exposure. The lawsuit claims, “At no point, however, has Exel or [Walmart] informed Plaintiff and the Class as to the extent of the contamination, the length that Plaintiff and the Class were exposed to the contamination, or the results of any inspection or evaluation of the facility.”
Since the evacuation, Exel has hosted two face-to-face meetings with affected employees to provide them with information, and another meeting is scheduled for early October.
At the last meeting, workers were encouraged to take advantage of free blood tests.
PCBs are considered very dangerous to human health, and they are very hard to destroy. Banned in the United States for decades, they were commonly used as coolants and stabilizers in products such as fluorescent light ballasts, transformers, paints, cements, electrical components, pesticides, lubricating oils and sealants. A known carcinogen, PCBs are linked to other serious health concerns including negative impacts on the immune, reproductive and neurological systems.
In a memo distributed to employees, Exel said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) had all been told about the PCB contamination.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management confirms to 13 Investigates that tests conducted in early September detected PCBs in the facility. The EPA is also part of this investigation and the Indiana Department and Labor and IOSHA has decided to send an investigator to the site, as well.