DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

TA-W-59,967

GAC CHEMICAL CORPORATION
GENERAL ALUM NEW ENGLAND CORP
SEARSPORT, MAINE

Certification Regarding Eligibility
To Apply for Worker Adjustment Assistance and
Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance

In accordance with Section 223 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19
USC 2273), as amended, the Department of Labor herein presents the
results of an investigation regarding certification of eligibility
to apply for worker adjustment assistance as a secondarily
affected worker group.
In order to make an affirmative determination and issue a
certification of eligibility for secondary workers to apply for
Trade Adjustment Assistance, the group eligibility requirements of
paragraph (b) of Section 222 of the Trade Act, as amended, must be
met. It is determined in this case that the requirements of (b) of
Section 222, as amended, have been met.
The investigation was initiated on August 28, 2006 in
response to a petition filed on behalf of workers of GAC Chemical
Corporation, General Alum New England Corp., Searsport, Maine.
Workers at the subject firm manufacture chemicals, including aqua
ammonia, aluminum sulfate, ammonium sulfate, bleach, and sodium
aluminate.
Employment at the subject firm declined during the period of
January through August 2006, when compared to the same time period
in 2005.
The investigation revealed that GAC Chemical Corporation,
General Alum New England Corp., Searsport, Maine, supplied
component parts (chemicals) for pulp, and a loss of business with
a manufacturer of pulp whose workers were certified eligible to
apply for adjustment assistance contributed importantly to the
separation or threat of separation of workers of GAC Chemical
Corporation, General Alum New England Corp., Searsport, Maine.
In accordance with Section 246 the Trade Act of 1974 (26 USC
2813), as amended, the Department of Labor herein presents the
results of its investigation regarding certification of
eligibility to apply for alternative trade adjustment assistance
(ATAA) for older workers.
In order for the Department to issue a certification of
eligibility to apply for ATAA, the group eligibility requirements
of Section 246 of the Trade Act must be met. The Department has
determined in this case that the requirements of Section 246 have
been met.
A significant number of workers at the firm are age 50 or
over and possess skills that are not easily transferable.
Competitive conditions within the industry are adverse.


Conclusion
After careful review of the facts obtained in the
investigation, I determine that workers of GAC Chemical
Corporation, General Alum New England Corp., Searsport, Maine,
qualify as adversely affected secondary workers under Section 222
of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended. In accordance with the
provisions of the Act, I make the following certification:
"All workers of GAC Chemical Corporation, General Alum New
England Corp., Searsport, Maine, who became totally separated
from employment on August 16, 2005, through two years from
the date of certification are eligible to apply for
adjustment assistance under Section 223 of the Trade Act of
1974, and are also eligible to apply for alternative trade
adjustment assistance under Section 246 of the Trade Act of
1974."
Signed at Washington, D.C., this 28th day of September 2006.

/s/ Linda G. Poole

LINDA G. POOLE
Certifying Officer, Division of
Trade Adjustment Assistance