THE SITE INCLUDED THREE SEPARATE PARCELS OF PROPERTY IN AND AROUND COLUMBIA, RICHMOND COUNTY, SC. THE SITE WAS ONE OF THE MOST COMPLEX SUPERFUND SITE IN THE HISTORY OF REGION 4 REMOVAL PROGRAM. THE OWNER & PRIMARY OPERATOR OF DIVEX, INC. WAS JACK SUTHERLAND. THE COMPANY WAS RUN BY MR. SUTHERLAND FROM THE EARLY 1980'S UNTIL 1993 & WAS ENGAGED IN NUMEROUS LEGITIMATE ENVIRONMENTALLY- RELATED SERVICES. IN ADDITION, DIVEX, INC., ENTERED INTO NUMEROUS CONTRACTS FOR TESTING, DEVELOPMENT AND DISPOSAL OF VARIOUS EXPERIMENTAL CHEMICALS AND COMPOUNDS. AS A RESULT, SUTHERLAND ACQUIRED NUMEROUS EXPLOSIVE AND TOXIC MATERIALS DURING THE COURSE OF HIS OPERATIONS. ON 9/6/93, MR. SUTHERLAND WAS KILLED IN A CHEMICAL EXPLOSION WHILE MIXING HIGHLY REACTIVE MATERIALS AT THE MANUFACTURING FACILITY. THE EXPLOSION CAUSED A RELEASE OF EXPLOSIVES, ACID AND OTHER CHEMICAL INTERMEDIARIES INTO THE ENVIRONMENT. EPA'S REMOVAL ACTION BEGAN AS A RESPONSE TO THIS ACCIDENT. THE EPA REGION 4 EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND REMOVAL BRANCH WAS FIRST NOTIFIED OF THE INCIDENT ON 10/22/93, BY SC SENATOR STROM THURMOND, WHO HAD BEEN CONTACTED BY THE RICHLAND COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SERVICES (RCEMS). THE BULK OF THE REMOVAL EFFORT FOCUSED ON CONTAINERIZED MATERIAL, SUCH AS DRUMS, BUCKETS, AND CYLINDERS. THERE WAS VERY LITTLE CONTAMINATED SOIL AND NO CONTAMINATED GROUNDWATER FOUND ON THE SITE. THE LAST PHASE OF THE REMOVAL INVOLVED COMPLEX SITE ASSESSMENT AND SAMPLING & THE FINAL REPORT WAS SUBMITTE