Westinghouse Electric Corporation/CBS/Viacom

From 1957 to1977, the Westinghouse Electric Corporation manufacturered electrical capacitors in Bloomington using "Interteen" (a mixture of Arochlors in mineral oil) as a dielectric (insulating material). These devices included a number of different types ranging from small ones for consumer electronic applications to large power handling devices for use by electric utilities and industry.

The Westinghouse manufacturing plant was located on the City's west side on Curry Pike road. Major unauthorized discharge of toxic chemicals, primarily PCBs, through sewer and storm water systems begun by Westinghouse in Bloomington in 1957. This abusive practice by Westinghouse continued unabated until discovered by the City of Bloomington Utilities Department in the early 1970s.

Defective capacitors and PCB contaminated manufacturing by-products were hauled to local landfills for disposal. Often Westinghouse paid the highest bidder (individuals with a pickup truck) to haul the capacitors to landfills, primarily the five major dumps.

Westinghouse proposed building a garbage fuled hazardouse waste incinerator to burn the PCB contaminated soil, which would have required building a hazardouse waste landfill to contain the estimated 600,000 cubic yards of hazardouse ash.

When this consent decree plan was rejected in the mid 1990's, alternatives to incineration have been explored. Westinghouse set up a office in Bloomington, eventually called Westinghouse Environmental Services which moniotred the local situation, coordinated engineering efforts, political discussions with the consent decree parties and handled public relations.

Public relations efforts included holding meetings with "selected" Bloomington citizens and officials to promote their position that PCBs were not that big a threat and should be left where they are. Westinhgouse also has actively delayed implementation of new data sampling, risk assesment plans and overall progress of the cleanup process. This delay is partially the reason the federal court through Judge S. Hugh Dillin has appointed a magistrate to resolve disput delays.

During the first few months of 1998 it appears that Westinghouse is cooperating with the govenmental parties to reach a final resolution of how to cleanup the consent decree sites.

In late 1997 Westinghouse, under the direction and agreement with the consent decree parties, completed a very successful cleanup of the West Side of Clear Creek, across from the Winston Thomas site, as well as cleanup of the the first phase of the Winston Thomas site.

Westinghouse was bought by CBS in 1997, and CBS was bought by Viacom in 2000. All Superfund liabilities from Westinghouse now reside with Viacom.