 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2020) |
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Auto parts |
| Founded | 1902 |
| Headquarters | , United States |
| Products | Brakes |
| Parent | First Brands Group [1] |
| Website | raybestos |
Raybestos is a brand of automotive brakes established in 1902 by Arthur H. Raymond and Arthur F. Law of Bridgeport, Connecticut.
In 1906, Raymond and Law invented the woven brake lining, an important innovation in automotive brakes.
From 1919 to 1989 Raybestos brand was manufactured by Raymark Industries, Inc, of Stratford, Connecticut.
Raymark Industries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1998. [2]
The Brand is currently distributed by Brake Parts Inc based in McHenry, Illinois. [3] In August 2020, First Brands Group (Trico) acquired Brake Parts Inc. [4]
The Stratford, Connecticut factory site is a designated Superfund site. The Federal Environmental Protection Agency reported:
The Raymark facility operated at (the Stratford) location from 1919 until 1989, manufacturing asbestos brake linings and other automotive asbestos products. The facility operated as a hazardous waste generator and land disposal facility. Raymark Industries, Inc. is a RCRA subtitle C regulated facility which is currently subject to bankruptcy proceedings. Hazardous waste produced on site includes lead-asbestos dust, metals and solvents. From 1919 to July 1984, Raymark used a system of lagoons to capture waste lead and asbestos dust produced by its manufacturing process. Dredged materials from the lagoons were landfilled at numerous other locations in the town of Stratford, Connecticut. [5]
Toxic waste is any unwanted material in all forms that can cause harm. Mostly generated by industry, consumer products like televisions, computers, and phones contain toxic chemicals that can pollute the air and contaminate soil and water. Disposing of such waste is a major public health issue.
Vermiculite is a hydrous phyllosilicate mineral which undergoes significant expansion when heated. Exfoliation occurs when the mineral is heated sufficiently; commercial furnaces can routinely produce this effect. Vermiculite forms by the weathering or hydrothermal alteration of biotite or phlogopite. Large commercial vermiculite mines exist in the United States, Russia, South Africa, China, and Brazil.
Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The program is designed to investigate and clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances. Sites managed under this program are referred to as Superfund sites. Of all the sites selected for possible action under this program, 1178 remain on the National Priorities List (NPL) that makes them eligible for cleanup under the Superfund program. Sites on the NPL are considered the most highly contaminated and undergo longer-term remedial investigation and remedial action (cleanups). The state of New Jersey, the fifth smallest state in the U.S., is the location of about ten percent of the priority Superfund sites, a disproportionate amount.
Stratford is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is situated on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. The town is part of the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, and the Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was settled by Puritans in 1639.
Solutia Inc. was an American manufacturer of materials and specialty chemicals including polyvinyl butyral (PVB), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) interlayers for laminated glass, aftermarket window films, protective barrier and conductive films, and rubber processing chemicals. The company was formed on September 1, 1997, as a divestiture of the Monsanto Company chemical business. In July 2012, the company was acquired by Eastman Chemical Company.
The Stratford Army Engine Plant (SAEP) was a U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command installation and manufacturing facility located in Stratford, Connecticut, where it was sited along the Housatonic River and Main Street, opposite Sikorsky Memorial Airport.
Trico is an American company that specializes in windshield wipers. Trico, then known as Tri-Continental Corporation, invented the windshield wiper blade in 1917. Its original Trico Plant No. 1 is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Trico is today one of the leading manufacturers of windshield wiping systems, windshield wiper blades and refills globally, with wiper plants on five continents.
Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere by abrasion and other processes. Inhalation of asbestos fibres can lead to various dangerous lung conditions, including mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer. As a result of these health effects, asbestos is considered a serious health and safety hazard.
The BoRit Asbestos Superfund site is a 32-acre (13 ha) waste dump and reservoir in Ambler, Upper Dublin Township and Whitpain Township, Pennsylvania that was contaminated with 1.5 million cubic yards of asbestos containing material due to the waste disposal practices of the Keasbey and Mattison (K&M) Company and Turner and Newall from 1897 to 1962. The site is named BoRit after Bob Rittenhouse, one of the recent owners of the site.
The American Brass Superfund site is a former industrial site, located in Henry County, Alabama. American Brass Inc. (ABI) operated a brass smelter and foundry facility on the site between 1978 and 1992. Prior to its closure in December 1992, the company had been cited by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, (ADEM), on several occasions for Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) violations, arising from its waste and hazardous waste disposal processes. Site surveys, conducted by ADEM after ABI ceased operations, revealed stockpiles of 150,000 tons of contaminated waste, and extensive soil and groundwater contamination.
Halaco Engineering Co. operated a scrap metal recycling facility at 6200 Perkins Road, Oxnard, Ventura County, California from 1965 to 2004. The state placed the facility on the California Hazardous Waste Priority List in 2007. The facility includes a smelter area west and the Waste Management Unit (WMU) east of the Oxnard Industrial Drain (OID). Attention was brought to the Halaco site through illegal waste disposal without permits. Further investigation yielded a discovery of harmful contaminants. Remediation of surrounding contaminated areas including the wetlands was completed in 2007. Restoration of the wetlands and management of the WMU are ongoing.
The Koppers Co., Inc. (KCI) Superfund Site is one of three Superfund sites in Oroville, California, along with Louisiana Pacific Sawmill and Western Pacific Railyard. The KCI Superfund Site is a 200-acre site which served as a wood treatment plant for 50 years. Wood was treated with many chemicals to prevent wood deterioration. The accumulation of these chemicals from spills, fires, and uses has caused this site to be contaminated with the hazardous waste material. Due to soil and groundwater contamination, the site was placed on the National Priorities List in 1984 for remedial action plans to clean up the site to protect surrounding residential areas concerning environmental and human health risks.
The Waste Disposal Inc. Superfund site is an oil-related contaminated site in the highly industrialized city of Santa Fe Springs in Los Angeles County, California. It is approximately 38 acres (15 ha), with St Paul's high school immediately adjacent to the northeast corner of the site. Approximately 15,000 residents of Santa Fe Springs obtain drinking water from wells within three miles (4.8 km) of the site.