Upstate Shredding drops bid for Roth Steel

Upstate Shredding, Owego, New York, says it has decided not to pursue its acquisition of Roth Steel, an idled scrap metal recycling facility in Syracuse, New York, that operated for nearly 100 years. The decision to halt the purchase came after the company reviewed records from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation that reportedly show significant contamination at the site.

Upstate initially acquired Roth Steel at an auction for $625,000. Roth Steel had closed down in early 2014 because of economic difficulties.

According to an article on www.Syracuse.com, Plumley Engineering of Baldwinsville, New York, reported that the cost to clean up the contamination would be at least $8 million and that the total financial liability could be more than that number if the pollution has traveled through groundwater to adjoining properties and into nearby Onondaga Lake.