Ward's Natural Science Establishment, Inc., 5100 West Henrietta Road, Rochester, New York
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EPA
Region		 Location of facility Type of facility Amount
of ore
received
(in tons)		 Did
EPA
visit
the
site?		 Were
samples
taken?		 Results of
evaluation
2 5100 West Henrietta Road, Rochester, New York School rock and mineral specimen supplier 1.68 Yes-April 18, 2000 No According to an EPA database compiled from W.R. Grace shipping invoices, 1.68 tons of Libby ore were shipped to this site from 1948 through 1971. At the time of EPA's visit in April 2000, a company official said Ward's had been operating since 1983 at 5100 West Henrietta Road in Rochester, New York. Previously, the company was located in Irondequoit, New York. The company sold science equipment and rock and mineral specimens to schools and other educational institutions as learning materials and research specimens. The company official said large "chunks" of Libby ore were purchased and cleaved into approximately 1-inch square pieces to be sold as rock specimens. W.R. Grace records indicated that Ward's received the last shipment of Libby ore in 1971. In addition, in 1990, the company purchased a 120-pound vermiculite ore specimen from a W.R. Grace facility in Washington County, Idaho. At the time of EPA's visit, all vermiculite specimens had been sold, and the company official said there were no plans to purchase any massive quantities of vermiculite in the future. Because of the relatively small amount of vermiculite ore purchased by Ward’s, EPA determined that further research into or an inspection of the facility in Irondequoit would not be necessary. Also, because the rock specimens that had been sold were not available for analysis, EPA had no way to determine the potential risk, if any, posed by the ore specimens. On the basis of this information, EPA decided no further action was needed at this site.

GAO-09-6R