Paying the price

Long after the 1978 fire, the Wade dump was still the Wade dump - a poisoned cesspit at the center of Chester's riverfront.

The state and federal governments had begun cleaning up the three-acre lot in early 1980. But every step had proven more expensive, more dangerous and more time-consuming than anyone had thought.

First to be removed were 1,500 intact 55-gallon drums containing chemicals that posed an immediate threat of fire or explosion. They were trucked to Rollins Environmental Services in Bridgeport, Gloucester County, for treatment or incineration.

Also Jersey-bound were the gooey wastes from seven tankers, along with 2,600 drums found inside the burned buildings.

New federal and state rules required the crews to fill out detailed forms for each barrel or container they carted away, identifying the contaminants, the source if known, and its destination.

Paperwork from a two-month period alone filled a three-inch-thick notebook.

The cleanup also was fraught with surprises.

Workers discovered a cache of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. The 110 drums had to be stored at the dump until they could be shipped to a Texas disposal facility, one of only two in the United States licensed to incinerate PCBs.

Another time-consuming job entailed picking through 5,000 cubic yards of debris - chemical-soaked soil, 750 crumpled drums, wood, machinery - to locate and remove toxic "hot spots."

When that phase was finished in late 1983, experts decided the risk of another catastrophe had been minimized. That was not to say the property was safe. Among the chemicals still there were six suspected carcinogens. Workers continued wearing air tanks and protective clothing.

Over the next three years, cleanup often stalled while the state went looking for specialized environmental contractors - and more money.

In January 1987, the final phase began.

Crews demolished seven buildings and four storage tanks, filled in a deep pit, and carted away 11 mountains of debris. They scraped away as much as five feet of topsoil, spread fresh dirt, planted grass, and walked away, locking the gate behind them.

On March 23, 1989, the Wade dump was removed from the federal Superfund's National Priority List - the worst of the worst. Although it is considered "clean" by federal standards, nothing may be built there until 2008, the 30th anniversary of the fire.

The Delaware County Tax Claim Bureau, which holds the title, then can do with the land as it pleases.

The cleanup cost $4.7 million, of which the chemical generators paid $2.75 million.

As one last bit of bookkeeping in 1989, the Environmental Protection Agency sent a bill to Melvin Wade for his share: $1,339,768.

It remains unpaid.