Ventron Corporation

Also Known As: Metal Hydrides Corp., Ventron Div., Morton Thiokol, Inc.
State: Massachusetts
Location: Beverly
Time Period: AWE August 13,1942-January 30,1950; Res. Rad. 1949-1985; 1987-1995; DOE 1986; 1996-1997 (remediation)
Facility Type: Atomic Weapons Employer Department of Energy

Facility Description

From 1942 to 1948, Metal Hydrides Corp. was under contract to the Manhattan Engineer District and the Atomic Energy Commission to convert uranium oxide to uranium metal powder. This work, as well as later operations to recover uranium from scrap and turnings from a fuel fabrication plant at Hanford, was conducted at a foundry at the site. During this period, Metal Hydrides was the AEC’s primary uranium scrap recovery contractor.

Cleanup activities at this location included the removal of an underground storage tank in 1986. Further remediation was performed between May 1996 and August 1997 by Bechtel National Inc. and a number of local subcontractors as part of the Formerly Utilized Site Remediation Action Program (FUSRAP).

The plant is currently owed by the Ventron Division of Morton International.

During the period of residual contamination, as designated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and as noted in the dates above, employees of subsequent owners and operators of this facility are also covered under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act.

Listing

Ventron Corporation is listed as an Atomic Weapons Employer (AWE) site from 1942-85 and 1987-95, and as a Department of Energy (DOE) site in1986 and from 1996-97.

Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) Classes

All Atomic Weapons Employees who worked for the Ventron Corporation at its facility in Beverly, Massachusetts, from November 1, 1942, through December 31, 1948, for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days, occurring either solely under this employment, or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees included in the Special Exposure Cohort

Compensation

As of 08/10/2015, the total compensation paid under Part B of the EEOICPA, including medical compensation, for workers suffering from the effects of having worked at Ventron Corporation is $1,650,000.

Ventron Corporation Workers

If you or your parent worked at this or any other AWE facility and became ill, you may be entitled to compensation of up to $150K plus medical benefits from the US Department of Labor. Call EEOICPA Counsel Hugh Stephens at 1-855-EEOICPA (336-4272) or fill out the form to the right, whether your claim has been accepted or denied.

We can help with all OWCP (Federal Workers Compensation) claims, impairments, wage loss and health care. 2495 Main Street, Suite 442 Buffalo, NY 14214.

Site Description and History

The Beverly, Massachusetts, Site (formerly the Ventron Site) is located on Massachusetts Bay at the confluence of the Bass River on the west and the Danvers River on the south. A railroad borders the site on the east, and a granite seawall surrounds the property along its boundaries with the two rivers. The city of Beverly lies approximately 15 miles northeast of Boston. The 3-acre Beverly site was formerly a chemical manufacturing plant and research and development facility owned by Morton International.

From 1942 to 1948, Metal Hydrides Corporation conducted operations at the site under contract to the Manhattan Engineer District and its successor, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). Operations at the site involved conversion of uranium oxide to uranium powder and, later, to uranium metal. Other operations at the site included recovering uranium from the scrap of a fuel fabrication plantin Hanford, Washington. Uranium-238 was identified as the primary contaminant of concern from those activities.

Between 1948 and 1950, after AEC surveyed and decommissioned the site, two of the original foundry facility buildings were demolished, and two new buildings were erected in their place. Another structure, the Alfa Building, was constructed and used for operations involving purification of thorium compounds. Contamination from thorium-232 and, to a lesser extent, radium-226 resulted from this work. Beneath Building A, radium was mixed with asbestos-containing material. Although uranium contamination at the site was the result of work performed for AEC, the thorium and radium contamination resulted from private operations that did not involve work for the federal government.

In 1977, after the Thiokol Corporation (renamed Morton International in 1990) acquired the property, Oak Ridge National Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) conducted a radiological screening survey at the site. On the basis of results from the screening survey, DOE determined that a comprehensive radiological survey of the entire site was needed. In 1986, the site was designated for remedial action under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP).

Initial remedial action activities began in 1995 with excavation and cleanup of contamination from portions of the harbor adjacent to the seawall. Residual contamination within the seawall could not be remediated because of stability and safety concerns. Morton International demolished 10 buildings, and uncontaminated rubble from the buildings was used as backfill along the seawall. Alfa Building was also demolished to provide access to underlying contaminated soil. Only two buildings (the Biocides Building and Building E) were left standing at the site. Approximately 9,500 cubic yards of radioactively contaminated soil, including asbestos- containing material, was removed and shipped to Clive, Utah, for disposal.

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EEOICPA CLAIMS

If you or your parent worked any of the DOE or AWE facilities listed on this website and became ill, you may be entitled to compensation of up to $400K plus medical benefits from the US Department of Labor.

Call EEOICPA Counsel Hugh Stephens at 1-800-548-4494, email hstephens@stephensstephens.com, or fill out the form below whether or not you have already filed a claim and even if your claim has been accepted or denied.

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Contact Us

Address:
2495 Main Street, Suite 442
Buffalo, New York 14214

Phone:
(716) 852-7590

Fax:
(716) 852-7599

After Hours:
(716) 208-3525

Email Us:
R. William Stephens, Esq.
R. Hugh Stephens, Esq.
Lisa P. Neff, Esq.

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