Cleanup at the site of a plastics recycling fire in West Virginia — one that burned for eight days and destroyed almost 90 million pounds of plastic scrap and pellets — is expected to begin Dec. 6.
No cause has been identified for the fire, which broke out at a warehouse operated in Parkersburg by Intercontinental Export Import Inc. The fire first was reported Oct. 21 but wasn't fully extinguished until Oct. 29. The incident remains under investigation.
State officials have approved a plan of corrective action submitted by IEI. The plan covers air monitoring, ash and burned material disposal and construction of a stormwater barrier. Total cleanup time is estimated at almost seven months.
IEI officials initially said that some documents about the contents of the warehouse were destroyed in the fire. The firm later filed more than 500 pages of safety data sheets and other information with the state. An initial list provided included plastics such as glycol-modified PET and several types of nylon.
Shortly after the fire, four other IEI recycling sites in the state were inspected for safety. IEI is part of SirNaik Group, a collection of recycling, scrap and compounding businesses in West Virginia and nearby states.
No employees were in the plant when the fire was reported. No injuries were reported among the more than 100 firefighters who battled the blaze. The site covers 450,000 square feet spread over three buildings, including one massive structure that covers 350,000 square feet.