A Zebulon Chemical Plant Mishandled Hazardous Waste for Years, Then Quietly Shuttered

A Zebulon Chemical Plant Mishandled Hazardous Waste for Years, Then Quietly Shuttered

The blank, beige building at 507 N. Industrial Drive, still emblazoned with the words “Braven Environmental,” looks benign from the street.  But on a recent weekend, an interior alarm beeped nonstop, piercing the midday quiet. Around back, past the side doors with a designated smoking area and a sign that read “Caution Respirators Required,” an acrid whiff of old oil wafted from several concrete pits.  Sharp metal parts jutted from barrels. Hunk…