Description of Sinclair Refinery Site and How to Remove its Asbestos

Read the description of the Sinclair Refinery site, which was the subject of an EPA clean up to remove asbestos and other dangerous environmental pollutants.

The Sinclair Refinery site, which contains asbestos, covers approximately 100 acres adjacent to the west bank of the Genesee River, one-quarter mile south of downtown Wellsville.

The refinery was built in the late 1800's and operated by the Wellsville Refining Company until 1919 when the Sinclair Refining Company (now the Atlantic Richfield Company, or ARCO) purchased the property and operated the refinery until 1958, when a fire ended operations.

After closure of the refinery, a majority of the property was transferred to the Village of Wellsville, which subsequently conveyed land parcels to various entities, including the State University of New York and the several companies now occupying the site.

Various types of wastes including cloth filters, oil sludges, contaminated soil, pesticides, heavy metals, and fly ash were disposed of in two on-site landfills over a 30-year period. Prior to the site remediation, the landfill area of the site consisted of a 9-acre Central Elevated Landfill Area, a 2-acre South Landfill Area, and a 1-acre sand and gravel area between the two landfills.

The landfill area of the site is located at the extreme southern end of the site, along the west bank of the Genesee River, approximately 1 and1/4 miles upstream from the Village of Wellsville's former water supply intake pipe.

The EPA, the State, and ARCO relocated the town's river water intake to a point upstream of the landfill in 1988, so that any contaminants entering the river through erosion of the landfill would no longer threaten the water supply.

Before any steps to remediate the site were initiated, the river was slowly eroding the ground under the landfill, creating the potential for contamination of off-site surface waters if the river's flood waters were high enough to reach the landfill.

Approximately 6,000 people live within a mile of the landfill. Several businesses and the State University of New York at Alfred's Wellsville Campus are located on the refinery portion of the Sinclair property. Approximately 500 people use the buildings located on this part of the site.

Site Responsibility: This site is being addressed through a combination of Federal, State, municipal, and potentially responsible parties' actions.

Courtesy of the EPA