Commodore Environmental Services receives national permit for research and development on PCB remediation

Business Wire, Sept 28, 1995

NEW YORK, NY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--September 28, 1995--Commodore Environmental Services, Inc. (OTC:COES) today announced that its Commodore Remediation Technologies, Inc. subsidiary has been granted a National Permit by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct research and development on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The Permit specifically applies to Commodore's on-going efforts to develop its AGENT 313 technology for the dechlorination of PCBs.

The EPA Permit grants Commodore the authorization to work with PCB-contaminated media with contamination levels of up to 400,000 ppm (parts per million). Under the Permit, up to 10 tons of contaminated soil may be treated at one time, and work must be performed at Commodore's facilities in Columbus and Marengo, Ohio.

Since 1988, Commodore has conducted research and development on its AGENT 313 process under a much more restrictive permit issued by Region 5 of U.S. EPA in Chicago. Through pilot testing of limited amounts of materials, Commodore has developed a process that has treated soils containing up to 10,000 ppm and oils containing up to 250,000 ppm, returning residuals with contamination levels of less than 1 ppm. Additionally, in applying its technology to the cleaning of contaminated surfaces, Commodore has achieved cleanup of surfaces with PCB-contamination levels as high as 22,000 micrograms/cm2, reducing contamination down to 4 micrograms/cm2. Commodore believes its AGENT 313 technology is the only non-thermal technology to achieve such high levels of destruction of PCBs.

PCBs, though no longer manufactured, are a widespread contaminant in the environment. Until the late 1970s, PCBs were used widely in a number of industrial products and processes as a fire retardant. As a result of uncontrolled waste disposal practices around the world, PCBs have ended up as contaminants in soils, sludges, sediments and on surfaces of numerous kinds.

"We are excited about this important step in developing our PCB remediation technology," said Dr. Neil Drobny, P.E., President and CEO of Commodore Remediation Technologies, Inc.. "There are literally thousands of sites in the U.S. and other countries worldwide that could, based on our tests to date, benefit from this lower cost alternative to incineration."

Additionally, based upon its development work over the last 7 years, and tests completed in the late summer of 1995, Commodore has applied for, and is optimistic that it will receive from the U.S. EPA, an Alternate Destruction Permit which, if granted, would allow the AGENT 313 process to be employed at sites other than the Commodore test facilities. This permit would be the first of its kind issued for a non-thermal process.

Commodore Environmental Services, Inc. (OTC:COES), based in New York City, and its Ohio-based research subsidiaries Commodore Laboratories, Inc. (formerly A.L. Sandpiper Corporation) and CFC Technologies, Inc., have been involved in environmental services and waste management since 1986. Commodore utilizes patented and patent-pending technologies for the destruction and selective destruction of refrigerants and other ozone-depleting substances. Commodore has also developed patent and patent-pending technologies to destroy PCBs, chemical weapons, dioxins and pesticides, and for the concentration of radioactive waste.

CONTACT: INVESTOR RELATIONS COUNSEL:

Commodore Environmental -or- The Equity Group Inc.

Services, Inc. Terry Hosmer

Melissa C. Berkowitz 212/836-9610

212/308-5800 Robert Goldstein

212/371-8660