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Many polluters slither away, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill
By Frank Carini / ecoRI News staff
This is what a lack of regulation, business and military failings, and timid enforcement produces: acres upon acres of contaminated land; hundreds of polluted waterways, from streams to bays; poisoned drinking water supplies; endless litigation; and taxpayers left holding a toxic-laden bag.
Taxpayers have paid, at a minimum, a few hundred million, according to ecoRI News research, to remediate 76 Superfund sites in southern New England — 13 in Rhode Island, 41 in Massachusetts, and 22 in Connecticut (the sites are listed below).
That price tag doesn’t include court costs, as many of these sites have plans to be remediated but are pending litigation to hold the parties responsible for creating these public health and environmental hazards.
ecoRI News recently asked the Environmental Protection Agency if the federal agency or any government entity keeps track of how much public money is spent remediating Superfund sites, but we didn’t receive a response. (In the past, the Government Accountability Office has criticized EPA’s lack of data on Superfund cleanup costs, noting the information is inconsistent and unreliable.)
Cleanup funding can come from federal, state, and/or municipal sources, but it’s typically the former that supplies the money, for both Superfund sites and brownfields.
Established in 1980, the EPA Superfund program is responsible for remediating the nation’s most contaminated lands. There are 1,877 Superfund sites in the United States, according to the EPA’s most recent count. The National Priorities List (NPL) is the list of the most serious sites identified for long-term cleanup.
Superfund sites exist in thousands of municipalities across the country, from remote rural areas to large urban settings. Many of these sites are in economically distressed communities.
“These are the worst of the worst — Picillo’s [pig farm], Davis liquids, Centredale Manor,” said Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management director Terrence Gray, noting the number of Superfund sites being created or discovered is dwindling “because most states have their own programs now so these things don’t really come up that often. A lot have been shaken out of the system. That’s not to say there’s not sites that come up every once a while, but the worst, the most serious ones were placed on the list early on.”
But remediating the Superfund sites that do exist is a massive and expensive undertaking. These dangerous sites can have a significant impact on the surrounding area.
About 24 million people — roughly 7% of the U.S. population — live within a mile of a Superfund site. One in six live within 3 miles. These sites pose a potential risk to nearby communities because of hazardous materials and toxic waste. From the 1940s until the mid-1980s, waste at the Atlas Tack Superfund site in Fairhaven, Mass., was discharged into an unlined lagoon next to a saltwater tidal marsh in the Buzzards Bay estuary. (istock)
A Superfund site in Smithfield, R.I., contaminated private wells. A site that straddles Cumberland and Lincoln polluted nearby public well fields. The town of Lincoln had to be connected to an alternate water supply, while the town of Cumberland absorbed the cost of the loss of its wells by increasing production from its remaining water supplies.
In Massachusetts, the state referred a site in Franklin to the EPA because a contaminated groundwater plume is impacting nearby properties and wetlands, and contamination on the property poses a hazard to people that may come in contact with soil and debris. The site was added to the NPL in 2015.
From 2017 to 2021, the Army investigated the impact of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in groundwater in an area at the Fort Devens Sudbury Training Annex Superfund site where a drinking water well was installed. It was determined the well is not safe to use because PFAS were detected in groundwater above 20 parts per trillion for six PFAS contaminants. (PFAS, a group of emerging contaminants of concern, however, are not currently considered a hazardous substance by the Superfund program. The EPA has proposed designating certain PFAS compounds as hazardous substances under the Superfund program. The agency has identified 180 Superfund sites as having PFAS contamination.)
Two municipal wells in Haverhill that supplied drinking water to about 6,000 people had to be shut down because of contamination from a nearby Superfund site.
In Connecticut, benzene and several other solvents from a toxic site were found in private wells in Beacon Falls at levels exceeding state drinking water standards. A condominium complex in East Windsor had to be shut down after condo owners began filing lawsuits against the developers because of the presence of toxic contaminants in the soil. The development was built atop a Superfund site. The condos were shut down in the early 2000s, and the area has been fenced off since.
Contaminants of concern include lead, mercury, dioxins, furans, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene that may increase the risk of cancer, reproductive problems, birth defects, and other serious health issues.
Dioxins and furans are the common names for a group of chemicals that are formed during combustion processes such as waste incineration, power generation, metal production, and fuel burning.
Dioxins are classified as known human carcinogens, but they also cause noncancerous effects such as atherosclerosis, hypertension, and diabetes. Long-term exposures to dioxins can cause disruption of the nervous, immune, reproductive, and endocrine systems. A large number of health impacts have been documented in scientific literature, and they all place dioxins among the most toxic chemicals known to humans.
Furans are classified as a possible human carcinogen. PCBs are highly carcinogenic chemical compounds, formerly used in industrial and consumer products, whose production was banned in the U.S. in 1979 and internationally in 2001. VOCs are gases that are emitted into the air from products or processes. Some are harmful by themselves, including some that cause cancer. In addition, some can react with other gases and form other air pollutants. The New Bedford Harbor Superfund site is one of the most contaminated in southern New England. (Frank Carini/ecoRI News)
For two-plus decades, federal policy helped corporations and businesses ignore the growing cost of contamination by shifting the financial burden for cleaning up Superfund sites from industry and onto taxpayers, according to a report by Environment America and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group published in December 2021.
The 184-page report noted the Superfund initiative was originally funded by a set of “polluter pays” taxes on the chemical and petroleum industries. Funds from these taxes went into a trust fund designated to support the Superfund program. When Congress let those taxes expire in 1995, the EPA increasingly relied on money from general taxpayer revenue to make up the growing funding shortfall.
Shortly after the polluter pays taxes were allowed to expire, the Superfund Trust, at the start of fiscal 1997, reached its peak balance of $4.7 billion and then began rapidly declining, according to the report. At the start of fiscal 2022, the trust had a balance of $67 million.
Unsurprisingly, as the amount of money in the trust fund fell so too did the number of remedial cleanup actions, from 91 in 1999 to 14 in 2021.
In late 2021, Congress passed and President Biden signed into law the bipartisan infrastructure bill reinstating the polluter pays taxes to fund the Superfund program.
An initial investment of $1 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will go toward clearing out the Superfund backlog in 23 states and Puerto Rico, according to the EPA. A total of $3.5 billion was set aside in the infrastructure package to remediate Superfund sites.
The EPA attempts to bill the parties responsible for the contamination, but often the entity no longer exists, can’t afford to pay, or is bankrupt, so the federal agency — through polluter pays taxes and/or taxpayers — pays for the cleanup.
Litigation and accountability are commonly drawn out, leaving neighbors and taxpayers to bear the brunt of the pollution and its costly cleanup. Superfund sites can contaminate groundwater and negatively impact air quality. Many of the sites claim to have monitoring plans, but the ones in charge of the monitoring can be the very entity that helped create the mess.
Companies that do pay for remediation don’t have to report to the EPA how much is spent, further complicating efforts to track costs of Superfund site cleanups.
Southern New England has a long history of industrial activity that resulted in extensive contamination. The following is a look at the Superfund sites in the three states:
Location: Johnston Size: 154 acres Placed on NPL: 1986 History: In the 1970s, operators disposed of industrial liquid waste in the landfill’s hazardous material disposal area — a minimum of 1.5 million gallons of documented hazardous waste was disposed of in this location. In 1982, the state ordered the site owner to close this area. The site is being addressed through federal and potentially responsible party (PRP) actions. The agreement was reached in 1994. Contamination: Latex waste, acid waste, corrosive waste, and water soluble oils and waste solvents, including methylene chloride, toluene, 1,1,1-trichlorethane, and tetrachloroethylene. Impact: The bedrock aquifer underlying the site was contaminated. Surrounding area: About 4,000 people live within 3 miles of the site. Remediation: Excavated and backfilled; construction of a multilayer cap; containment and treatment of groundwater; deed restrictions on groundwater use and land use. Potentially responsible parties: Rhode Island Solid Waste Management Corporation. Record of Decision (ROD). Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: The site’s long-term remedy includes hydraulic containment and treatment of groundwater in the hot spot area of the landfill. The hydraulic containment and groundwater treatment system began operating in 2006. EPA has conducted several five-year reviews of the site’s remedy. Current use: Landfill managed by the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation. It receives about 90% of the state’s municipal solid waste. Broadrock Renewables LLC also owns and operates a facility on-site that turns gas collected from the landfill into electricity. Centredale Manor Restoration Project
Location: North Providence and Johnston Size: 9 acres Placed on NPL: 2000 History: Prior to 1936, the neighboring properties were occupied by Centredale Worsted Mills, a woolen mill. The Atlantic Chemical Co. began operating on the properties in circa 1943, changing its name in 1953 to Metro-Atlantic Inc. and continuing to operate until the early 1970s. New England Container Co. Inc. operated an incinerator-based drum reconditioning facility on a portion of the site from 1952-71. Operations ended in 1972 when a fire destroyed most of the facility. Disposal practices included burying waste or releasing chemicals directly onto the ground or into the Woonasquatucket River. Contamination: Dioxin; polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); benzene; dibromochloropropane; trichloroethene. Impact: EPA investigations found contamination in soil, sediment, groundwater, surface water, and animals. Surrounding area: On the eastern banks of the Woonasquatucket River; village of Centredale; North Providence Town Hall. Remediation: Installation of several soil caps; excavation of most of the contaminated Woonasquatucket River sediment and floodplain soil in the Allendale and Lyman Mill reaches of the river; fencing; reconstruction of the Allendale Dam. Potentially responsible parties: 36, including American Hoechst Corp., Ciba-geigy Corp., and Conocophillips Co. Since 1999 EPA has conducted a number of potentially responsible parties search activities. First, EPA located and interviewed persons familiar with former operations at the site and conditions of the properties at 2072 and 2074 Smith St. prior to and during construction of the apartment complexes. EPA also obtained a title search and reviewed DEM files, old newspapers, and fire department records to determine historic information about releases at the site. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice, the EPA, and DEM reached a $100 million settlement with two subsidiaries of Stanley Black & Decker Inc. — Emhart Industries Inc. and Black & Decker Inc. — to clean up dioxin-contaminated sediment and soil at the site. Status: The responsible parties began implementation of the 2012 cleanup plan in 2018 under the oversight of EPA and DEM. Construction began at the site in late 2019 and is expected to take 6-7 years and will be done in phases along the 1.5 miles of the river. Current use: An affordable housing community (Brook Village) and an assisted-living apartments for seniors and low-income people (Centredale Manor). Davis Landfill
Location: Glocester and Smithfield Size: 58 acres Placed on NPL: 1984 History: Between 1974 and 1976, the landfill, which was privately owned and licensed by the state to accept municipal wastes, accepted material from Glocester, Smithfield, Warwick, and Providence. In 1978, the state declined to renew the landfill's license because the facility had violated numerous regulations for operating a solid waste management facility. Numerous legal actions to close the landfill ensued, and the R.I. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state in 1982, at which time the landfill became inactive. The landfill, however, was never properly capped or stabilized. Contamination: Dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL); volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as tetrachloroethene, trichloroethene, vinyl chloride and benzene; semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), including bis(2-chloroethyl) ether; pesticides, such as aldrin and dieldrin; and metals, including arsenic and manganese. Impact: EPA investigations revealed groundwater had levels of manganese and arsenic that migrated beyond the boundaries of the landfill. Surrounding area: About 200 residents who use private water wells live within a one-mile radius and about 4,700 people using private wells live within a 3-mile radius. Remediation: After public hearings and receiving public comment in fall 1997, EPA recommended the monitoring of residential wells in the nearby vicinity of the site continue on an annual schedule and that no further active remedial action was needed. Potentially responsible parties: After investigation of numerous sources of information related to waste transported and disposed of at the site, EPA hasn’t named any potentially responsible parties. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. The estimated cost to remediate the site was $6.7 million. Status: After the site was removed from the NPL, in 1999, EPA and the state conducted five rounds of residential well testing near the site and found no site-related contamination in private residential wells down gradient from the property. Current use: The property features two ponds and several streams. Davis Liquid Waste
Location: Smithfield Size: 10 acres Placed on NPL: 1983 History: Throughout the 1970s, the site accepted liquid and chemical wastes such as paint and metal sludges, oily wastes, solvents, acids, caustics, pesticides, phenols, halogens, metals, fly ash, and laboratory pharmaceuticals. Liquid wastes were transported in drums and bulk tank trucks and were dumped directly into unlined lagoons and seepage pits. The operator periodically excavated the semi-solid lagoon materials, dumped these materials at several locations on the site and covered them with soil. Other operations included the collection of salvaged vehicles and machine parts, metal recycling, and tire shredding. Dumping activities resulted in soil, surface water, sediment and groundwater contamination, both on and off the property. Contamination: Paint and metal sludge; oily wastes; solvents; acids; caustics; pesticides; phenols; halogens; heavy metals; fly ash; pharmaceuticals; vinylbenzene; 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene. Impact: The disposal of these wastes contaminated groundwater at and surrounding the property. Nearby private wells were found to be contaminated by wastes emanating from the site in bedrock groundwater. Surrounding area: Residential and the closest homes are within 1,500 feet of the site. There are about 240 people living within a mile and 4,700 people living within 3 miles. The nearest well is 300 feet away. Surface water drains into Latham Brook and eventually enters Stillwater Reservoir, a tributary to the Woonasquatucket River. Remediation: From 1985-86, EPA shipped about 600 intact and crushed drums to an approved disposal facility. At the same time, DEM supplied bottled water for drinking and cooking to residences with contaminated wells. The construction of a new water distribution system serving 127 lots along Forge Road, Log Road, Burlingame Road, and Bayberry Road was completed in 1997. The new system included the construction of a 300,000-gallon water storage tank, a water main, pumping stations, and connections to existing residences. In 1998, some 5,000 tons of solid waste and soils and 800 drums and containers were removed from the site. Between 1999 and 2001, another 20,000 tons of contaminated soil, wastes, and debris was removed. About 78,000 tons of contaminated soil was excavated and treated via low-temperature thermal desorption, backfilling the treated material at the site. The disturbed areas were vegetated and more than 300 trees were planted. Potentially responsible parties: 60, including Brown University, URI, ExxonMobil Corp., Honeywell International Inc., Monsanto Co., Proctor & Gamble Co., Providence Journal-bulletin, and United Technologies Corp. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. The estimated cost of remediating the site was $27.8 million. Status: The remaining threat to human health and the environment is groundwater contamination. Current use: Development of a 10.7-megawatt solar array that required the clear-cutting of trees. This Superfund site was redeveloped and now hosts 90 businesses. (EPA) Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center
Location: North Kingstown Size: 1,285 acres Placed on NPL: 1989 History: Serving as a military installation since 1942, its primary mission was to provide mobilization support to Naval construction forces. Much of the site is contiguous with Narragansett Bay and consists of four areas — Main Center; West Davisville storage area; Allen Harbor area; and the Pier Support area. Camp Fogarty, a training facility 4 miles west of the Main Center in East Greenwich was transferred to the Army in 1993, is also part of the listing. The Navy disposed of wastes in all areas, and at least 24 areas with potential hazardous contamination have been identified. The Navy is focused on 12 areas, including the Allen Harbor Landfill (the largest of the areas). In the 1970s, 30 to 40 35-gallon cardboard containers of a chloride compound were stored at the site and deteriorated over time. Contamination: Solvents; paint thinners; degreasers; PCBs; sewage sludge; contaminated fuel oil; heavy metals; pentachlorophenol. Impact: Operations and waste disposal practices resulted in widespread soil and groundwater contamination and contaminated surface water in nearby Allen Harbor. Surrounding area: Single-family residential. Groundwater is assumed to flow toward Narragansett Bay, which is 600 feet from the site. Some 27,000 people get their drinking water from public wells within 3 miles of the site. Remediation: The investigation into the nature and extent of the four main areas was completed in 2016. The major components of the selected remedy include land-use controls to prevent future residential use in some areas; development of a soil management plan to address how to safely manage contaminated soils; performance of annual inspections to verify that site conditions remain in compliance; and five-year reviews to confirm that the remedy continues to be protective of human health and the environment. Potentially responsible parties: Navy. Several RODs. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. The estimated cost of remediating the site was about $30 million. Status: Long-term monitoring continues at various areas throughout the site, and a the last five-year review report was issued in March 2018. Current use: Following its closure, in April 1994, the property was managed and developed by various state entities. In 1993, 374 acres were conveyed to the Army for use in training the Rhode Island National Guard. In 2004, the General Assembly created the Quonset Development Corporation (QDC). To date, 1,121 of the 1,285 acres have been transferred to QDC, which has since sold or conveyed the acreage through a Maritime Public Benefit Conveyance. The town of North Kingston has received 205 acres through a National Park Services Public Benefit Conveyance to develop parks. As of December 2021, EPA had data on 90 on-site businesses. Landfill and Resource Recovery Inc.
Location: North Smithfield Size: 36 acres Placed on NPL: 1982 History: The site originally was a sand and gravel pit and was used for small-scale refuse disposal from 1927-74. In 1974, the site was sold and developed into a large-scale disposal facility accepting commercial, municipal, and industrial wastes. Landfilling of wastes continued until 1985, when the owners closed the facility. Contamination: Many types of bulk and drummed organic and inorganic materials in liquid, sludge, and solid forms. EPA has estimated more than 2 million gallons of hazardous chemicals, including solvents, plating waste, asbestos, oils, and dyes, were brought to the landfill for disposal. Impact: Trout Brook, next to the site and the Slatersville Reservoir, into which it discharges, are used for fishing and other recreation, but are not public water supply sources. Surrounding area: Some 3,000 people live within 3 miles of the site. An industrial park is about 3,000 feet to the north and Air National Guard installations are about 1,000 feet to the east and 3,000 feet to the south. Most, if not all, residences in the site’s vicinity obtain their drinking water from individual wells. Remediation: In 1977, the owner installed monitoring wells to ensure compliance with state regulations. In 1985, the landfill closed. At that time, 75% of the site was covered with a synthetic cap to minimize infiltration of rain and melted snow. Soil also was used as a cover. The cap was built with gas vents to prevent the build-up of gases. Long-term solutions included the installation of fencing; stabilization of the steep side slopes of the landfill and installation of a synthetic cap over the uncapped area of the landfill, with establishment of a vegetative cover; collection and thermal destruction of underlying gases in an enclosed flare; and groundwater and air monitoring. EPA has conducted several five-year reviews. Potentially responsible parties: 46, with 13 participating — Aerosols Danville Inc., Clean Harbors of Braintree Inc., Avnet Inc., Waste Management of Massachusetts Inc., Bixby International Corp., Waste Management of Rhode Island Inc., Corning Inc., Electric Boat Corp., Life Technologies Corp., NSTAR Electric Co., OCG Microelectronics Materials Inc., Ballantyne Legacy Holdings LLC, and Stanley Black & Decker Inc. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. The estimated cost of remediating the site was $11.7 million. Status: Since 1995, the site’s potentially responsible parties have been operating and maintaining the remedy and monitoring to ensure the remedy remains protective. Current use: Inactive landfill. Newport Naval Education & Training Center
Location: Aquidneck and Gould islands Size: 1,063 acres on the west shore of Aquidneck Island, facing the East Passage of Narragansett Bay in Portsmouth, Middletown, and Newport and the northern third of Gould Island, an uninhabited island that is part of the town of Jamestown. Placed on NPL: 1989 History: Between 1900 and the mid-1970s, the facility was used as a refueling depot. An 11-acre portion of the site along the shore of Narragansett Bay was known as the McAllister Point Landfill. Contamination: Acids; solvents; paint waste; waste oils; PCBs; VOCs; per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Impact: Sludge from nearby tank farms was dumped on the ground or burned in chambers. Five tank farms in the Melville area, including one 300 feet from a coastal wetland. Surrounding area: An estimated 4,800 people obtain drinking water and 220 acres of land are irrigated from private wells within 3 miles of the site. Some 10,000 people live within 3 miles of the site. Remediation: The Navy continues to lead ongoing investigations and cleanup at 16 identified sites — nine have been completed and six are being monitored. The cap was completed at the McAllister Point Landfill in 1996. Dredging offshore of the McAllister Point Landfill was completed in 2001. Officials have said the cleanup could take until 2060. Potentially responsible parties: Navy. Several RODs. Taxpayer cleanup cost: $225 million. It has been estimated another $100 million will be needed to remediate the site. The original cleanup estimate was $20 million. There also will be future costs incurred for the long-term monitoring of the site's groundwater. Status: Access is restricted at most of the remaining sites where remedies have not been implemented, so potential threats to human health and the environment are minimized. Current use: Naval Undersea Warfare Center and other Navy-related operations. Two Superfund sites on the base — a landfill and a former tank farm — host solar projects. Several non-Superfund parcels and buildings have been transferred and redeveloped as a marina, a community college campus, and other commercial and industrial uses. Non-Superfund and Superfund parcels continue to be considered for transfer. This site on the Blackstone River was polluted with an alphabet soup of contaminants and heavy metals such as arsenic. (EPA) Peterson/Puritan Inc.
Location: Cumberland and Lincoln Size: 500 acres Placed on NPL: 1983 History: Site operations included aerosol packaging, chemical manufacturing, warehousing, and landfilling. In 1959, a plant at the north end of the site began packaging aerosol consumer products. A railcar accident and tank spill on the property in 1974 released 6,000 gallons of solvent. Contamination: VOCs; PCBs; polycyclic hydrocarbons (PAHs); phthalates; ethylbenzene; heavy metals such as arsenic. Impact: In 1979, the Rhode Island Department of Health found chlorinated VOCs in groundwater contaminating nearby public well fields. The town of Lincoln was connected to an alternate water supply, while the town of Cumberland absorbed the cost of the loss of its wells by increasing production from its remaining water supplies. Surrounding area: Mixture of industrial, commercial, residential, and recreational. There are about 1,000 residences within a mile radius and 12,000 people living within a 4-mile radius of the site. Remediation: Completed cleanup efforts include the excavation of leach fields and the treatment of contaminated soil. Ongoing cleanup efforts include extracting and treating soil gas at the tank farm, pumping and treating the contaminated groundwater plume emanating from the tank farm, and pumping groundwater down gradient of the tank farm into the local sewer system. Potentially responsible parties: In 1992 EPA notified seven parties, including CPC International Inc., of their potential liability. There ended up being nearly 100 potentially responsible parties. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. A 2016 settlement estimated to be worth $40.3 million between the U.S. Department of Justice, EPA, and DEM ensured that cleanup of the site would move forward. The agreement, lodged in federal court in Providence, resolved federal and state liability claims against the potentially responsible parties. Under the settlement, 22 of the settling defendants (ACS Industries Inc., Alcoa Inc., Avnet Inc., Clean Harbors Inc., Costa Inc., Cumberland Engineering Corp., CVS Pharmacy Inc., General Cable Industries Inc., Hindley Manufacturing Co. Inc., Hollingsworth & Vose Co., International Paper Co., KIK Custom Products Inc., Philips Electronics North America Corp., Sears Roebuck & Co., Shawmut Corp., Supervalu Holdings Inc., Teknor Apex Co., Texas Instruments Inc., Narragansett Electric Co., Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. LLC, Waste Management of Massachusetts Inc., Waste Management Disposal Services of Massachusetts Inc., Waste Management of Rhode Island Inc., and Wyman-Gordon Co. will be responsible for implementation of the remedy selected by EPA in 2015. These parties will also pay for the oversight costs incurred by EPA and DEM. Status: In 1990, EPA divided the site into two separate areas, known as operable units 1 and 2 (OU-1 and OU-2), to best address the different areas and types of contamination. Current use: Cooperation between EPA, DEM, and the local community enabled on-site businesses to remain in operation during the cleanup. Megawatt Energy Solutions installed about 2,000 solar panels on the roof of a warehouse building in 2014. The state of Rhode Island and the municipalities also completed redevelopment projects on the property, including a town dog pound, a riverside park, and a bike path along the Blackstone River and Canal. As of December 2021, EPA had data on 47 on-site businesses. This largely remediated site now hosts three wind turbines. (EPA) Picillo Farm
Location: Coventry Size: 8 acres Placed on NPL: 1983 History: During the 1970s, a pig farm operated on the site. The farm’s owners also disposed of liquid chemical wastes, solid wastes, and at least 10,000 drums of hazardous substances in several unlined trenches. These actions contaminated soil, surface water and groundwater. The contamination was discovered in 1977, when a fire and explosion occurred. Contamination: Industrial solvents; pesticides; oils; paint sludges; methylene chloride; tetrachloroethylene; tetrahydrofuran; methyl isobutyl ketone. Impact: The site lies near the upper Roaring Brook watershed, which is a tributary to the Moosup River. Groundwater and surface water runoff flows away from the disposal site toward an unnamed swamp, Great Cedar Swamp, and Whitford Pond, which is used to irrigate a nearby cranberry bog. Surrounding area: There are more than 150 single-family homes within a mile of the site and new development continues to encroach on undeveloped land surrounding the property. All residences rely on private wells for their water; these wells are sampled about once a year by the Rhode Island Department of Health. Remediation: Removal of bulk wastes and buried drums; removal and off-site disposal of contaminated soils; treatment of some soils; groundwater extraction and treatment; surface drainage controls; fencing. Potentially responsible parties: In 1988, under an agreement with EPA, four of the potentially responsible parties performed the off-site removal of the contaminated soil and site closure activities, including filling, grading, and revegetating the site and the building of a surface water runoff control system. There ended up being 56 potential responsible parties, including the Allied Chemical Corp., General Electric, Monsanto Co., state of Rhode Island, and Textron Inc. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: In 2016, EPA completed a site review to look at ways to bring the property to a closure. Results of that study are implemented as needed. Current use: In 2016, a Rhode Island energy developer installed three wind turbines next to the site. Power generated by the turbines is sold back to the grid. Rose Hill Regional Landfill
Location: South Kingstown Size: 70 acres Placed on NPL: 1989 History: From 1967-83, the town leased the land for use as a domestic and industrial waste disposal facility. EPA discovered the contamination in 1981. Early investigations found landfill gases moving off site toward nearby homes. In 1983, the facility stopped operations and the operator graded and seeded the disposal areas. Contamination: Sewage sludge; elevated levels of toxic metals; 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane; dieldrin; 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene; benzene. Impact: Improper disposal activities contaminated site groundwater, soils, and three nearby private wells. Runoff contaminated nearby surface waterbodies. Surrounding area: An estimated 17,300 people obtain water from wells within 3 miles of the site. The area is both rural and residential, with forested areas, fields, small farms, and sand/gravel mining activities nearby. The site is bordered by the Saugatucket River to the east, while Mitchell Brook flows through the property. Remediation: Municipal water supply was extended to residences with contaminated wells; installation of gas alarms for nearby residences, and the relocation of one residence; capping the landfill; installation of a landfill gas destruction system; monitoring and restricting groundwater use. Potentially responsible parties: In 1989 EPA sent general notice letters to eight potentially responsible parties. There ended up being 10 parties, including Kenyon Industries Inc., the town of Narragansett, and the town of South Kingstown. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: At least $23.8 million. EPA estimated the total cost associated with the cleanup of the site to be $32.7 million. In 2003 EPA and DEM signed a settlement agreement with the towns of South Kingstown and Narragansett. Through this settlement the towns will contribute $8.56 million of overall site cleanup costs, and the state will contribute an additional $15.2 million. Status: EPA and DEM believe the cleanup is working as intended, but are concerned with the potential for landfill gas to migrate off site. Current use: A transfer station for municipal wastes is on part of the site, and in 2018 a 4.7-megawatt solar facility was built on the landfill caps. Stamina Mills Inc.
Location: North Smithfield Size: 5 acres Placed on NPL: 1984 History: Stamina Mills began operating as a textile mill in the early 1900s. It was closed for an undetermined period of time during the Great Depression, and changed ownership in the 1940s. In 1969, a solvent scouring system, which used trichloroethylene (TCE) for removing oil and dirt from newly woven fabric, was installed. Sometime in 1969, an unknown quantity of TCE was spilled at the site. In 1975, the mill was closed. Contamination: Solvents, acids, bases and dyes for coloring; pesticides for moth proofing; plasticizers to coat fabrics; TCE. Impact: In 1981, in response to the discovery of private well contamination, the Rhode Island Water Resources Board and the town installed a public water line to area residences, but not all residences were connected. Subsequently, the EPA provided resources to extend the water system and complete connections to those residences. By 1987, all residences impacted by the spill were connected to the public water supply. Surrounding area: The village of Forestdale, with a population of about 1,000, is within a half-mile of the site. A school and private residences with nearly 300 people are within a quarter-mile. Industrial and commercial facilities are within a half-mile. The site is bordered by wetlands and the Branch River to the south. Remediation: Providing a public water supply; eliminating the on-site landfill; fencing; in-place vacuum extraction of soil contaminated with TCE in the spill area; excavation and off-site disposal of landfill waste and sediments in the 100-year floodplain; extraction and treatment of contaminated groundwater using air stripping and soil vapor extraction. EPA has conducted several five-year reviews of the site’s remedy. Vapor intrusion studies have determined there are no potential vapor intrusion exposure issues near the site. Potentially responsible parties: Kayser-Roth Corp. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: In 2003 the U.S. Department of Justice and the EPA entered into a settlement agreement with the Kayser-Roth Corp., which a the time of the TCE spill was the parent corporation of Stamina Mills Inc. Under the settlement, Kayser-Roth was required to reimburse the Superfund account in the amount of $7.2 million. Status: Groundwater treatment is ongoing, while soil treatment was completed in 2010s. Deed restrictions were to be used to regulate land use and preserve the integrity of the remedy’s components. Current use: The site has been vacant and unused since 1977, when a fire destroyed the manufacturing complex. West Kingston Town Dump/URI Disposal Area
Location: South Kingston Size: 18 acres Placed on NPL: 1992 History: Two former dumping areas make up the site. A gravel mine began operating on part of the site, the West Kingston town dump area, in the 1930s. From the late 1940s until 1975, a gravel mine also operated on the site, at the URI Disposal Area. Starting in 1951, area towns and URI began disposing of unregulated waste on the property. The dump closed in 1978, but disposal continued until at least 1987. Starting in 1988, the state connected affected residential wells nearby to municipal water. A 1989 inspection found leaking drums next to the site. Drum contents contaminated subsurface soil and groundwater. Contamination: VOCs, including tetrachloroethene and trichloroethene. Impact: A 1975 study by the URI Department of Civil Engineering and the state resulted in the discovery of a leachate plume beneath the landfill that was contaminating groundwater as far as 1,200 feet west of the dump. Surrounding area: An estimated 15,800 people obtain their drinking water supply from three major public wells within 4 miles of the site. An additional 12,000 persons are supplied by private wells, the nearest being about 1,000 feet northwest of the site. The property is within the Chipuxet River valley basin. Hundred Acre Pond, part of the river, is about 1,500 feet from the site. The river basin is a major groundwater resource. Remediation: Combined waste from both areas and capped it on-site; injection of a chemical treatment to help break down contaminants in the groundwater. Potentially responsible parties: There ended up being an agreement with four responsible parties — the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education, the town of Narragansett, the town of South Kingston, and URI. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: At least $3 million. The towns, the Board of Governors for Higher Education, and URI agreed to perform groundwater remediation and continue other cleanup work at the site at an estimated cost of $2.343 million. The group also will pay $650,000 to the federal government and the state of Rhode Island for past costs and the cost of overseeing performance of the remedy. Status: Operation and maintenance activities and monitoring of groundwater natural attenuation are ongoing. Current use: Solar facilities with capacities of 1.2 megawatts and 2.7 megawatts were completed on the two sites in 2018. This redeveloped site consists primarily of a 20,000-square-foot building and space for parking trucks. (EPA) Western Sand & Gravel
Location: Boundary of Burrillville and North Smithfield Size: 25 acres Placed on NPL: 1983 History: From 1953 until 1975, a sand and gravel quarry operated on the site. From 1975-79, a waste disposal area operated on the property. Operators disposed of materials in unlined lagoons and pits, resulting in contamination of soil and groundwater. Contents of tank trucks were emptied directly into 12 open lagoons and pits, none of which were lined with protective materials. The pits were concentrated on a hill that slopes toward Tarkiln Brook, which is used for recreational purposes and drains into the Slaterville Reservoir. Contamination: Chemicals and septic waste. Impact: The state closed the disposal operation because nearby residents complained of odors. Surrounding area: About 600 people within a mile radius of the site depend on groundwater. Eight homes were found to have contaminated wells. Remediation: Installation of a groundwater recirculation system and an alternate water supply; restrictions on groundwater and land use; waste removal; capping of a 2-acre area; fencing of the 6-acre contaminated soil area; some 60,000 gallons of liquid chemical and septic waste were taken off site for disposal. Potentially responsible parties: In early 1983 EPA notified 91 parties of their potential liability. On Feb. 7, 1984, a meeting attended by 49 of the 91 was held in Boston to begin negotiations to determine whether any responsible party was willing and able to undertake remedial action. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: The use of groundwater is prohibited. Current use: In 2001, Supreme Mid-Atlantic Inc. bought the site property and built a truck body assembly plant on the up-gradient part of the site. The development consists primarily of a 20,000-square-foot assembly building and space for truck parking.
Location: Fairhaven Size: 48 acres Placed on NPL: 1990 History: From 1901-85, the facility manufactured a variety of metal products, including tacks, steel nails, and bottle caps. From the 1940s until the mid-1980s, wastes were discharged into an unlined lagoon next to a saltwater tidal marsh in the Buzzards Bay estuary. Wastes were discharged into drains in the floor of the main building. Other contaminated areas at the site include a filled wetland and a former dump. Contamination: Cyanide; benzene; naphthalene; 4,4-dde; heavy metals such as mercury and lead; solvents; volatile organic compounds (VOCs); PCBs; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Impact: Some chemicals permeated the floors and timbers of the building and migrated to adjacent soils and groundwater. Surrounding area: A bike path; marsh; Priests Cove. Remediation: Demolition of most remaining structures; removal of contaminated soil; groundwater monitoring; site restoration; some 108,000 tons of contaminated soil, debris, and sediment were excavated and disposed of off site. Potentially responsible parties: Atlas Tack Corp.; Gni Inc.; M. Leonard Lewis. Record of Decision (ROD). Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. In 2006 the EPA announced $8.3 million of new funding to assist the site’s cleanup efforts, which came on the heels of $3 million allocated in late 2005. The total cost of this phase is about $14 million. Under the terms of the consent decree, M. Leonard Lewis and Atlas Tack Corp. will pay $2,335,000 in installments over a two-year period. Further, Atlas Tack has agreed to sell the property and pay the United States 95% of the net proceeds of the sale. The town of Fairhaven also agreed to pay unpaid real estate taxes it collects with respect to the property that are in excess of $80,000 and the Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to pay $50,000 to the Superfund account. All of this money will be used for the site’s cleanup. Status: Cleanup took place between June 2005 and September 2007. Current use: Restored wetlands and the saltwater marsh now provide habitat for plants, fish, and wildlife. Birders frequent the site for bird-watching activities. Citizen scientists have recorded several species on the site, including the pie-billed grebe, the American bittern and the least bittern, which are listed as endangered in Massachusetts. Baird & McGuire
Location: Holbrook Size: 20 acres Placed on NPL: 1983 History: The site hosted a chemical mixing and batching company from 1912-83. Later activities included mixing, packaging, storing, and distributing various products such as pesticides, disinfectants, soaps, floor waxes, and solvents. Waste disposal methods included direct discharge into the soil, a nearby brook, wetlands, and a former gravel pit. Hazardous wastes historically were disposed of in an on-site lagoon and cesspool. Also on the site were two lagoons open to rain and large areas of buried wastes such as cans, debris, lab bottles, and hundreds of bottles of chemicals. Between 1954 and 1977, the company was fined at least 35 times by various state and federal agencies for numerous violations. The site has been subject to environmental cleanup activities for close to 40 years. Contamination: High levels of dioxin; organochloride insecticides; herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid; 4,4-ddd; 4,4-dde; 3,4-benzo-pyrene; PAHs. Impact: The South Street well field, part of the municipal water supply for Holbrook, is within 1,500 feet of the site and was shut down in 1982. The Cochato River had at one time been diverted into the Richardi Reservoir, a water system serving nearly 90,000 people in Holbrook, Randolph, and Braintree. The Cochato River is currently not being used as a supply source for the Richardi Reservoir. Surrounding area: There about 8,000 people within a mile radius, with a per capita income of $31,117, which is almost 20% lower than the median per capita income in Massachusetts of $37,886. An estimated 52% of this population reports being a person of color, including 35% Black, 11% Asian, and 4% Hispanic/Latino. The site is 500 feet west of the Cochato River. Remediation: Removal of 1,020 cubic yards of hazardous waste, 1 ton of waste creosote, 25 gallons of waste coal tar, 155 pounds of solid hazardous waste, 47 drums of flammable liquids and solids, and two drums of corrosives. A total of 4,712 cubic yards of contaminated sediment were removed from the Cochato River. The lagoon area was capped with clay. The buildings were in various states of disrepair and unsecured and all but one were demolished. Installation of 5,700 feet of fencing, and a groundwater recirculation system was operated to contain the groundwater plume. The site was also graded, capped, and seeded. Potentially responsible parties: Allstate Insurance Co.; Ann E. Realty Trust Inc.; Baird & McGuire Inc. A ROD signed in 1986 specified on-site incineration as the selected remedy for the contaminated soils at the site. A second ROD signed in 1989 specified on-site incineration as the selected remedy for the contaminated sediments of the nearby Cochato River. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Since 1993, an $800,000-a-year, government-funded groundwater treatment process has been removing toxic chemicals from groundwater at a rate of about 90 gallons a minute — a total cost of $24 million over the past 30 years. The total cost of remediation using the incineration system was nearly $134 million — a total of 248,000 tons of soil and sediment were incinerated at a cost of $540 per ton. The on-site incinerator cost $72 million to build. Status: The groundwater treatment facility continues to operate and will operate for the foreseeable future. Current use: Inactive as cleanup actives continue. The site before cleanup efforts began. (EPA) BJAT LLC
Location: Franklin Size: 18 acres Placed on NPL: 2015 History: Beginning in the late 1800s the property was used for industrial operations, including the manufacturing of rubber and plastic products. Investigations found process waste and debris containing hazardous substances at concentrations above state standards. Contamination: Heavy metals; semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs); lead; mercury; asbestos; PCBs. Impact: Massachusetts referred the site to EPA because a contaminated groundwater plume is impacting nearby properties and wetlands, and contamination on the property poses a hazard to people that may come in contact with soil and debris. Surrounding area: Bounded to the northeast by commercial properties and the town’s Department of Public Works facility; to the east and southeast by railroad tracks and residential properties; to the southwest by Interstate 495; and to the northwest by several parcels owned by the town, consisting of open water, wetlands, woodland, and recreational areas. Remediation: The current owner of the property conducted four environmental investigations between 2005 and 2012. Cleanup approaches were considered, but are not viable at this time because of the extent of contamination. Potentially responsible parties: In 2017 the EPA, BJAT LLC, and Hasco Associates LP reached a settlement. The actions to be implemented generally include, but are not limited to, the following — development of a site-specific health and safety plan; site preparation such as clearing and grubbing; excavation, sampling, staging, and covering of drums and other containers, waste, and some 2,114 tons of contaminated soil; treatment of excavated soil on-site if appropriate; placement of high visibility fence at the limits of excavated areas; air monitoring; shipment of waste, excavated soil, and other contaminated items that may be encountered off-site for disposal, treatment, re-use or recycling. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: A remedial investigation/feasibility study began in 2016.Current use: The property has not been active since 1985. Blackburn & Union Privileges
Location: Walpole Size: 22 acres Placed on NPL: 1994 History: Industrial and commercial processes on the property using chromium, arsenic, and mercury date back to the 1600s. Industry and commerce during the 17th and 18th centuries involved hazardous substances, including chromium, arsenic, and mercury. Between 1891 and 1915, the site was used for the manufacturing of tires, rubber goods, and insulating materials. The crushing of raw asbestos in the manufacture of brake and clutch linings occurred between 1915 and 1937. Contamination: Asbestos; lead; arsenic; VOCs; SVOCs. Impact: A history of industrial and commercial use and waste disposal left the site’s soil and groundwater heavily contaminated. Surrounding area: Primarily residential. Remediation: Excavation and disposal of contaminated soil was completed in 2018. The excavation and disposal of contaminated sediment from the Neponset River impoundment called Lewis Pond was completed after. Potentially responsible parties: W.R. Grace & Co.; Tyco Healthcare Group LP; BIM Investment Corp.; Shaffer Realty Nominee Trust. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. In 2011 federal and state governments reached a $1 million settlement with two former owners and operators of the site, W.R. Grace & Co. and Tyco Healthcare Group LP, and with the current owners, BIM Investment Corp. and Shaffer Realty Nominee Trust. The consent decree resolves natural resource damages liability claims; it requires the parties to pay for injuries to ecological resources, including groundwater and wetlands, which provide habitat for waterfowl and wading birds such as black ducks and great blue herons. The settlement funds will be used for natural resource restoration projects in the area. In a 2010 settlement with the EPA, the four private parties agreed to perform a remedial action to clean up the site at an estimated cost of $13 million. Status: The site’s long-term remedy includes treating on-site groundwater that is contaminating surface waters, restricting groundwater use on the site, and monitoring groundwater to make sure contamination is not moving off the site. A groundwater treatment facility on the site is in operation. Current use: The town took ownership of several properties on the site and built a senior center and police station. The former mill building was demolished and a parking lot for use by the senior center and police station was built. Cannon Engineering Corp.
Location: Bridgewater Size: 7 acres Placed on NPL: 1983 History: Beginning in the 1970s, the company stored and burned hazardous wastes at the site. Mishandling of the waste and reporting violations led to the facility closing in 1980. In 1982, MassDEP removed 155,000 gallons of sludge and liquid wastes and about 700 drums and incinerated these materials off site. Massachusetts and New Hampshire successfully prosecuted criminal actions against Cannon Engineering Corp. (CEC) officers and other individuals who were involved in the illegal disposal of wastes that were to be disposed of at the Bridgewater facility. The investigations leading to the convictions and subsequent investigations found that CEC, operating in concert with a number of individuals and businesses, arranged for wastes that were sent to the Bridgewater facility to be illegally transported to several other disposal sites in New England, which later became Superfund sites. Specifically, investigations found wastes first sent to Bridgewater were commingled with other wastes and, at various times, were shipped to a storage facility in Plymouth and to illegal disposal sites in Nashua and Londonderry, N.H. Contamination: VOCs; SVOCs; PCBs; PAHs; pesticides; heavy metals. Impact: Operations contaminated soil, sediments, buildings, groundwater, and surface water. Surrounding area: Residential and commercial. Remediation: About 400 tons of PCB-contaminated soil were excavated and incinerated off site; 11,330 tons of soils containing VOCs were excavated and treated on-site using low-temperature thermal aeration; 1,200 tons of scrap metal and 1,300 tons of concrete were shipped for recycling; 360 cubic yards of hazardous debris were sent to a federally approved disposal facility; and 480 cubic yards of non-hazardous debris were shipped to a demolition materials landfill. Potentially responsible parties: Cannons Engineering Corp. Superfund sites include locations in Bridgewater and Plymouth, Mass., and two sites in New Hampshire. In March 1986, EPA notified about 600 parties who either operated the Bridgewater facility, generated waste that was shipped to the facility, arranged for the disposal of waste at the facility, or transported waste to the facility of their potential liability. In February 1988, 276 parties signed binding letters of intent to participate in the settlement. A second agreement was reached with 22 parties to conduct an emergency removal action at the site. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: At least $340,000. The 1988 ROD for the Bridgewater site noted the state was responsible for 10% of the cost of the remedial action. In the case of the selected remedy, the state’s share is estimated at about $340,000. The cleanup of the four Cannons Engineering Corp. Superfund sites was estimated at $52 million. Status: The site was removed from the NPL in 2013. Current use: The site was redeveloped into a propane storage distribution facility in 1996. Charles George Reclamation Trust Landfill
Location: Tyngsborough Size: 70 acres Placed on NPL: 1983 History: Initially a small municipal dump, the landfill expanded to accept household and industrial wastes. The state ordered the site closed in 1983. Contamination: VOCs; mercury; benzene; trichloroethene; chloroform; bromomethane. Impact: Site operations contaminated groundwater. Surrounding area: A large industrial park has since been built on the northern border of the site. Remediation: EPA provided a pipeline supplying residents affected by contaminated groundwater with a permanent alternative water supply. The landfill was capped and leachate and contaminated groundwater are being collected to eliminate potential risks. Potentially responsible parties: The 52 potentially responsible parties formed a steering committee to represent them in their dealings with EPA, according to a 1988 ROD. Several RODs. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: EPA has advised the Board of Health to notify the agency if a property owner in the vicinity applies to install a private water supply well. Current use: The installation of a 3.6-megawatt solar photovoltaic facility was completed in 2017. Creese & Cook Tannery
Location: Danvers Size: 22 acres Placed on NPL: 2013 History: From 1903-83 the tannery used raw animal hides to make leather shoes, handbags, gloves, and garment leather. Waste from tanning was put into two landfills. Contamination: Heavy metals such as arsenic, chromium, and hexavalent chromium; dioxin; furans; PAHs. Impact: Liquid effluent was discharged to the Crane River until 1975. Surrounding area: The site includes areas on both sides of the Crane River. Cemetery and businesses. Remediation: Contaminated soil from unpaved and paved areas was excavated and taken to an off-site facility. Some soil in the northwest portion of property was consolidated and capped. Potentially responsible parties: ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. The estimated cost to clean up the site was $25 million. Status: No longer listed on NPL. Current use: The property was subdivided and two parcels were redeveloped into condominium complexes. Dewatering work at the site. (EPA) Fort Devens
Location: Ayer, Harvard, Lancaster, and Shirley Size: 9,000 acres Placed on NPL: 1989 History: The military base was established in 1917 for support during World War I and became a permanent base until it was closed in 1996. Of the 324 sites initially identified, 54 sites were listed as probable study areas and areas of contamination. In 1994, the towns of Ayer, Harvard, Lancaster and Shirley, together with redevelopment authority MassDevelopment, developed the “Devens Reuse Plan.” The plan devoted more than a third of Devens’ land area to open spaces and recreational areas. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service used 836 acres of the site to expand the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge. Contamination: PCBs; VOCs; heavy metals; pesticides; petroleum-related compounds; naphthalene; per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Impact: Extensive contamination, as various inorganic and organic contaminants were found in groundwater, sediment, and surface water. Surrounding area: Largely rural/residential. Remediation: Landfill closure; landfill maintenance; long-term groundwater monitoring; landfill gas monitoring; installation of a vertical barrier wall; excavation of contaminated sediments from Red Cove. Potentially responsible parties: Army. Several RODs. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: Some cleanup activities and investigations are ongoing. Current use: MassDevelopment has brought warehouses and distribution centers, manufacturing and industrial space, and research and development facilities to the property. The site also includes a Native American cultural center, residential properties, and the Shirley Meadows affordable apartments for seniors with supportive service for aging. As of December 2021, EPA had data on 143 on-site businesses. Fort Devens Sudbury Training Annex
Location: Hudson, Maynard, Stow, and Sudbury Size: 2,750 acres Placed on NPL: 1990 History: Established in 1942, the installation served as an ammunition depot, ordnance test station, troop training and research area, and laboratory disposal area. The area was an active facility until it closed in 1995. Contamination: PFAS; VOCs; PCBs; pesticides. Impact: From 2017 to 2021, the Army investigated the impact PFAS in groundwater at one area where a drinking water well was installed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. It was determined the well is not safe to use because PFAS were detected in groundwater above 20 parts per trillion for six PFAS contaminants. Surrounding area: Green space; golf course; businesses; residential. Remediation: All sites have been cleaned up or closed out. While many of the contaminants detected across the site were within acceptable risk standards for recreational use, risks associated with future residential use were identified and were the focus of cleanup decisions. EPA has conducted several five-year reviews. The next five-year review report is scheduled to be completed in September 2026. Potentially responsible parties: Army. Several RODs. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: Removed from the NPL in 2002. Current use: The Army has transferred 71.5 acres to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a regional operations center and several training areas; 2,205 acres to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge, and 4 acres to the Air Force for a radar/weather monitoring station. Cleanup efforts were required for 20 contaminated areas outside the river, five groundwater management areas, and three river segments. (Army Corps of Engineers) GE Housatonic River
Location: Pittsfield Size: 254 acres Placed on NPL: 1997 History: Since the early 1900s, General Electric operated a large-scale industrial facility, including the manufacturing and servicing of power transformers, defense and aerospace ordnance, and plastics. Years of PCB and industrial chemical use, and improper disposal, led to extensive contamination around Pittsfield and down the entire length of the Housatonic River. Contamination: PCBs are present in large quantities in river sediment and floodplain soil; estimates range from between 100,000 to nearly 600,000 pounds. PCBs were banned by the federal government in 1979. Impact: Between 1932 and 1977 GE released PCBs and other chemical wastes into the Housatonic River. Contamination extends along the river from Pittsfield through Connecticut and into Long Island Sound. Since 1977 there has been a ban on fishing/consumption of fish from areas of the Housatonic River. Surrounding area: Commercial properties; the Allendale School; Silver Lake, the Housatonic River; and floodplains. Remediation: Cleanup efforts were required for 20 contaminated areas outside the river, five groundwater management areas, and three river segments. Potentially responsible parties: General Electric. 8,883 documents. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. General Electric got the green light last March from the EPA to start removing contaminated soil from the Housatonic River, two years after the landmark cleanup plan was finalized. Under the EPA’s 2020 plan, about 1 million cubic yards of contaminated soil will be disposed of in Lee. In 2016, GE had opposed an EPA plan that would have forced the company to spend an estimated $613 million to remove large quantities of PCBs from the river. GE had said it should be allowed to dispose of the toxic sludge near the river. In 2020 the company said it had already spent more than $500 million to remediate the site. The EPA had estimated the effort would cost about $576 million. Status: The remediation of the 20 non-river cleanup areas and the first 2 miles of the Housatonic River are complete. GE is conducting all required post-removal site control activities, including inspection, monitoring, and maintenance activities at these cleanups. Current use: Between 2005 and 2012, the Pittsfield Economic Development Authority received ownership of 50 acres for the development of the William Stanley Business Park. In 2010, the Western Massachusetts Electric Co. installed a 1.8-megawatt solar power facility. Two large employers continue to operate on the GE-owned portion of the site. Continued uses on the non-GE owned portion of the site include an elementary school, about 86 residential properties, about 35 commercial properties, and a city park. Groveland Wells
Location: Groveland Size: 850 acres Placed on NPL: 1982 History: From 1963-2001 the former Valley Manufacturing Products Co. produced metal and plastic parts on the site, releasing cutting oils and chlorinated hazardous solvents. Contamination: Trichloroethylene (TCE); VOCs; mercury; lead; benzo(k)fluoranthene; chrysene. Impact: The site includes the watershed and aquifer supplying two municipal drinking water wells, as well as three properties that were polluting groundwater and soil in the area. Two Groveland production wells, the sole source of drinking water for the town, were shut down in 1979 when the state detected TCE above acceptable limits. Surrounding area: The site remains in continued residential, recreational, commercial, municipal, and industrial use. Mill Pond and portions of Johnson Creek are also on the site. Remediation: In late 1987 and early 1988, the potential responsible parties installed soil vapor extraction (SVE) to remove contaminants from site soils. They also installed a small groundwater treatment system. These systems were ineffective. EPA then designed and installed a large groundwater treatment system in 2000. In 2006, EPA removed abandoned underground storage tanks, a former disposal system, and contaminated soils from the site. From 2009 to 2011, EPA designed, installed, and operated an electrical resistive heating treatment system to replace the SVE system. All of these treatment activities were effective and ended in 2014. Potentially responsible parties: Nine, including the Archdiocese of Boston, the Groveland Resources Corporation, and Valley Manufactured Products Inc. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: MassDEP is decommissioning the large groundwater treatment facility on the site. EPA continues to monitor conditions, conducting a review of the cleanup actions every five years. Current use: The Groveland Department of Public Works continues to operate on a portion of the site. In 2012, a 3.6-megawatt solar array was installed on another area of the property. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston owns the property and plans to use the decommissioned treatment facility building. Hanscom Field/Hanscom Air Force Base
Location: Bedford, Concord, Lexington, and Lincoln. Size: 1,120 acres Placed on NPL: 1994 History: In 1942 the state leased the Bedford airport to the War Department for use by the Army Air Forces. A total of 22 possible sources of contamination have been identified on the land the Air Force has owned or leased, including former fire training, disposal, underground storage tank, and other spill sites. Contamination: Chlorinated solvents; jet fuel and petroleum compounds such as benzene and naphthalene; waste oils; degreasers; sludge; pentachlorophenol. Impact: In spring 1983, three production wells for the town of Bedford, about a mile northwest of the base, were shut down after VOCs were detected above drinking water standards. Surrounding area: Commercial and residential. Remediation: Installation of a groundwater remediation system; excavation of contaminated soils and sediments; landfill capping; wetland mitigation and restoration; long-term monitoring of groundwater and surface water. Potentially responsible parties: Air Force. Several RODs. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: At the request of EPA and MassDEP, the Air Force has suspended the operation of the existing dynamic groundwater remediation system due to the presence of PFAS in the effluent. The Air Force conducted a site investigation for PFAS, specifically perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and determined that a remedial investigation for PFAS is needed. The Air Force initiated this investigation last year. The Air Force has also sampled for the emerging contaminant 1,4-dioxane and has added it to its long-term monitoring program. Current use: Military flight operations ended in 1973 and in August 1974, the airfield reverted to state control and was renamed L.G. Hanscom Field. It is currently operated by the Massachusetts Port Authority as a civilian airport. The cleanup effort included excavating some 43,500 tons of contaminated soil. (Army Corps of Engineers) Hatheway & Patterson
Location: Foxborough and Mansfield Size: 38 acres Placed on NPL: 2002 History: A former wood preserving facility operated on the site from 1953-93. Contamination: Pentachlorophenol; TCE; fluoro-chrome-arsenate-phenol; chromated copper arsenate; dibenzo(a,h)anthracene; benzo[a]pyrene. Impact: The release of dioxins, furans, and phenols from the facility to the Rumford River, which bisects the site, impacted fisheries and wetlands. The release of arsenic, chromium, copper, phenols, and PAHs to groundwater were deemed to pose a potential threat to nearby municipal and private drinking water wells. Surrounding area: Mixed residential and industrial. Remediation: About 43,500 tons of contaminated soil were excavated and shipped off site to a hazardous waste landfill; capping of a 2-acre area; 2 acres covered with asphalt; long-term monitoring of groundwater, surface water, fish tissue, and sediment. Potentially responsible parties: None. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: About $28 million. Status: EPA completed the cleanup in 2011. In 2018 the site was removed from the NPL. Current use: A 119-space commuter parking lot is on part of the site. It serves the nearby Mansfield commuter rail station. The town of Mansfield also uses part of the site for emergency vehicle storage and uses a remaining building for office space. The Mansfield portion of the site along County Street in not currently in use. Haverhill Municipal Landfill
Location: Haverhill Size: 71 acres Placed on NPL: 1983 History: The Haverhill Landfill came into existence as of the result of the Great Merrimack River flood of 1936. Local businesses and residences were completely flooded and had no place to dispose of their damaged goods, food waste, and other materials from the flood damage. The city designated the site as the place to dispose of this waste. Municipal and industrial wastes were accepted at the landfill until May 1981. Contamination: Some of the wastes included 55-gallon steel drums of unknown materials, tannery and shoe wastes, tires, and flammables such as lacquers, paints, oils, and glues. The materials were either dumped on the surface of the site or deposited into shallow pits. Sludge and liquids were disposed of on a parcel of land near the Merrimack River. Other toxins found on the site included benzene, toluene, xylenes, trichloroethylene, and vinyl chloride. Impact: Two municipal wells had supplied drinking water to about 6,000 people until they were closed in 1979 due to contamination. Surrounding area: Private residences are immediately adjacent to the site within both Haverhill and Groveland. Remediation: Two phases of drum removals in 2004 and 2006 removed more than 6,500 drums and 64 rolls of hazardous wastes and stained soils. Grading and capping of the southern mound of the former landfill took place in 2012. Potentially responsible parties: City of Haverhill and Trimount Bituminous Products Co. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Last year Haverhill borrowed nearly $8 million to pay the city’s share of capping the landfill’s northern mound. Status: Long-term cleanup and environmental monitoring are ongoing. Current use: The landfill is currently inactive and does not accept waste. Hocomonco Pond
Location: Westborough Size: 23 acres Placed on NPL: 1983 History: From 1928-46 a wood-treating and preservation facility operated on the site. Contamination: Creosote; dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL); mercury; lead. Impact: The persistence of the DNAPL pool below the groundwater table makes groundwater cleanup "technically impracticable." Surrounding area: The area is bordered on the northwest by Hocomonco Pond, a 27-acre freshwater pond long used for recreation. Residential areas are less than a half-mile northeast and southeast of the site and the adjacent property use is commercial. Remediation: All excavated soil and sediment were placed in a double-lined landfill built on the site. It was seeded with grass and completed in 1996. Also in 1996, soil from the former tank farm area was excavated (3,660 cubic yards) and placed in the former lagoon area. The area was then capped and seeded with grass. A groundwater treatment plant was built on site to recover DNAPL and treat associated groundwater. It began operation in 1994 but ceased operations in 2003. Since then, passive recovery of DNAPL has been performed — every three months DNAPL is manually removed from the water table and disposed of off site. Potentially responsible parties: 10, including the Aluminum Co. of America, Koppers Co. Inc., and the Massachusetts Department of Public Works. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. The estimated cost to clean up the site was $2.3 million. Status: Operation and maintenance activities and monitoring are ongoing. Current use: The Hocomonco Pond Reuse Committee is making recommendations to the Board of Selectman on the future use and redevelopment of the site. Industri-Plex
Location: Woburn Size: 244 acres Placed on NPL: 1983 History: The site was used for manufacturing chemicals such as lead-arsenic insecticides, acetic acid, and sulfuric acid for local textile, leather, and paper manufacturing industries from 1853 to 1931. It was also used to manufacture glue from raw animal hide and chrome-tanned hide wastes from 1934-69. The byproducts and residues from these industries caused the soils within the site to become contaminated with elevated levels of heavy metals. Contamination: Phenol; benzene; toluene; arsenic; lead; chrome. Impact: Residues from animal hide wastes used in the manufacture of glue were relocated on-site from buried pits to piles near swampy areas on the property. Many of the animal-hide piles and lagoons were leaching toxic metals into the environment. Surrounding area: Residences are within 1,000 feet of the site, and more than 34,000 people live within 3 miles of the property. Remediation: Installation of 10,000 feet of fence; warning signs posted; permeable caps placed over about 105 acres of soils and sediments contaminated with lead, arsenic, and chromium in excessive levels of 300 parts per million or more; interim groundwater treatment system to treat a groundwater hot spot contaminated with toluene and benzene. Potentially responsible parties: The Industri-Plex Site Remedial Trust was created as a requirement of the 1989 consent decree for the 26 settling defendants (current and previous landowners) to form a single entity responsible for funding, managing, and administering the remediation. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. The estimated cost of the clean up was about $26 million. Status: Construction of the final cleanup phase began in 2015 and was completed in 2017. Current use: During and after initial cleanup activities, several public and private improvements took place, including a new interstate highway exchange, public roads, a 200,000-square-foot shopping center, an office park, and a hotel complex. As of December 2021, EPA had data on 47 on-site businesses. The property also includes restored wetlands. Iron Horse Park
Location: Billerica Size: 553 acres Placed on NPL: 1984 History: Industrial activities, which began in 1913, included manufacturing, rail yard maintenance, waste storage, and landfilling. Contamination: SVOCs; total petroleum hydrocarbons; pentachlorophenol; PAHs. Impact: The site’s long history of industrial use resulted in soil, groundwater, and surface water contamination. Surrounding area: Commercial and residential. Remediation: Removal of contaminated soil; backfilling of areas with clean soil; capping of contaminated soil areas; closing and capping of landfills; removal of asbestos materials and capping the asbestos landfill; restoration of marshes and wetlands. Potentially responsible parties: Several RODs. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. In 2014, the EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice have reached a $4.2 million settlement with Boston and Maine Corp. and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for partial reimbursement of EPA’s past cleanup costs, and for full payment and performance of future remediation at one of the location’s contaminated sites. Status: The site is being addressed in stages — the initial actions and four long-term remedial phases focused on clean up of the lagoon areas; Shaffer Landfill; remaining site-wide source areas; and groundwater, surface water, and sediments across the rest of the site. Current use: Continued operation of industrial businesses on the site, including lumber, manufacturing, and rail yard maintenance facilities. Two ground-mounted solar arrays, totaling 10 megawatts, have been built on the property. As of December 2021, EPA had data on nine on-site businesses. Lawrence Metals
Location: Chelsea Size: 1.8 acres Placed on NPL: 1990 History: From the late nineteenth century until 1974, when a fire destroyed the building, the site was home to the American Barrel Co., which conducted textile production, barrel cleaning, and painting. From 1979-86, the property was for warehouse space. In 1986, the Lawrence Metals Forming Co. began operating on the site. The city acquired the site in 2000. Contamination: PCBs, at up to 208,000 parts per million; VOCs; waste oil; lead, at up to 7,000 ppm. Impact: Operations resulted in the contamination of soil and site materials. Surrounding area: Within a mile radius of the site, 73% of the population are people of color. Remediation: Removal of 20,000 tons of PCB-contaminated soils and 2,000 gallons of waste oil. The site was capped with 2 feet of clean soil and concrete/asphalt. Potentially responsible parties: American Barrel Co. and Lawrence Metals Forming Co. Taxpayer cleanup cost: $9,016,022. It cost in total $12,500,579 to remediate the site. Status: The site has been removed from the NPL. Current use: Homewood Suites hotel. Materials Technology Laboratory
Location: Watertown Size: 48 acres Placed on NPL: 1994 History: President James Madison established the facility in 1816. It was used originally for the storage, cleaning, repair, and issuance of small arms. During the mid-1800s, its mission expanded to include ammunition and pyrotechnics production, materials testing, and experimentation with paints, lubricants, and cartridges. In the 1960s, the Army used the site for nuclear reactor and molecular and atomic structure research activities. The facility closed in 1995. Contamination: Low-level radioactive waste; PCBs. Impact: Wastes generated by the facility contaminated soil and groundwater. Surrounding area: Squibnocket Park; commercial; residential. Remediation: Removal of contamination; demolition of on-site nuclear reactor. Potentially responsible parties: Army. Several RODs. Taxpayer cleanup cost: $72 million. Status: Removed from the NPL in 2006. Current use: From 1996 to 2005, the Watertown Arsenal Development Corporation helped redevelop 30 acres of the site. Harvard University bought the area and built a mixed-use complex called Arsenal on the Charles. The complex includes stores, restaurants, a child-care facility, a fitness center, corporate offices, other businesses, and the Arsenal Center for the Arts. The Commander’s Mansion, a historic landmark, occupies a 7.2-acre area of the site. Microfab Inc.
Location: Amesbury Size: 14 acres Placed on NPL: 2017 History: Industrial activities were conducted on the property between 1950 and 1987, and included metal parts manufacturing, printed circuit board production, electroplating, and associated metal finishing. In October 1987, Microfab filed a petition in federal bankruptcy court to commence liquidation proceedings. The company filed for bankruptcy protection while still owing the city $800,000 in back taxes. The property includes a 102,000-square-foot, three-story factory building built in about 1950, a detached former wastewater treatment plant building constructed in 1976, and paved parking areas. Both buildings are abandoned and in poor condition. Contamination: VOCs (trichloroethylene, cis-1,2-DCE, tetrachloroethene, and vinyl chloride); metals (copper, lead, nickel, arsenic, and chromium); SVOCs; cyanide. Impact: MassDEP had to assume responsibility for the site’s cleanup. Surrounding area: The property is bound to the north by Haverhill Road (Highway 110) with residential properties beyond, to the east by a small commercial property, to the southeast by undeveloped property including wetlands, and the west and southwest by Boston North Technology Park LLC. An unnamed stream flows adjacent to the site's west perimeter, draining into a large wetland to the south that is associated with the Merrimack River. Remediation: Installation of a fence in the western portion of the site to prevent human contact with contaminated wetland sediments; construction of a groundwater extraction and treatment system that operated from 1991 to 2012. Potentially responsible parties: None. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. It was estimated the cleanup would cost between $1.5 million and $3.5 million. Status: Additional fieldwork and investigations; performing human health and ecological risk assessments; completing a feasibility study to evaluate potential remedial alternatives. Current use: The former industrial property has been vacant and unoccupied since 1987. Natick Laboratory Army Research, Development and Engineering Center
Location: Natick Size: 78 acres Placed on NPL: 1994 History: The Army built the facility in 1954 and conducted research and development activities on the site. In 1989, personnel at the facility noticed a sheen on water running off the site during rainstorms. Construction workers also noticed a benzene-like odor in the soil. In addition, radioactive materials and chemical agents were used for food irradiation, tracer studies, and clothing absorption tests. Contamination: Tetrachloroethene; trichloroethene; carbon disulfide; benzene; chloroform; acetone; turpentine; paints; inks; lubricants; gasoline; pesticides; heavy metals such as barium, arsenic, copper, chromium, lead, and zinc. Impact: Due to a PCBs release in the mid-1980s from a transformer leak and migration within the stormwater drainage system and discharge to Lake Cochituate, sediments within Pegan Cove became contaminated. Surrounding area: The site occupies a peninsula on the eastern shore of Lake Cochituate State Park and Recreation Area. The site is bordered on the north and west by residential areas. Remediation: Construction of a groundwater extraction and treatment system; extraction of contaminated groundwater; dredging of three sediment hot spots in Pegan Cove; some 1,560 tons of contaminated soil was excavated and about 4 tons of asphalt was removed. Potentially responsible parties: Army. Several RODs. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: The site is still being addressed through federal actions. Current use: Army Soldier Systems Center still operates a research and testing facility on the site. Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant
Location: Bedford Size: 46 acres Placed on NPL: 1994 History: The facility was created in 1952 when construction of the Naval Industrial Reserve Aircraft Plant began. Its mission was to provide the Raytheon Manufacturing Co. of Waltham with facilities for research and development of radar, missile guidance systems, and related equipment. Contamination: Leak of about 200 gallons of fuel oil; 250-gallon diesel spill; presence of chlorinated VOCs in groundwater; documented release of 1,1,1-trichloroethane; plume of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene. Impact: The incineration of paint and film produced about 2 pounds of silver, 320 pounds of zinc, 570 pounds of lead, and 190 pounds of chromium over the 19 years of incineration at the site. Surrounding area: Bordered by Lawrence G. Hanscom Field and Hanscom Air Force Base to the south; by Raytheon Electronic Systems Facility, a Patriot Integration Test Facility, wetlands, and residences to the west; by woods and wetlands to the north; and by woods, residences, and wetlands to the east. Remediation: The Navy has been operating a groundwater extraction and treatment system since 1997; excavation and on-site treatment of contaminated soils. Potentially responsible parties: Navy. Several RODs. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: Remedial actions remain ongoing. Current use: Facility remains in operation. Manufacturing facilities discharged industrial wastes containing PCBs directly into the harbor and indirectly through New Bedford’s sewer system. (EPA) New Bedford Harbor
Location: New Bedford Size: 18,000 acres Placed on NPL: 1983 History: At least two companies produced capacitors and other electronics on the site from 1940 to the late 1970s. Operations discharged industrial wastes into the harbor, which contaminated the estuary from the upper Acushnet River into Buzzards Bay. Contamination: PCBs; heavy metals. Impact: The urban tidal estuary’s sediments are highly contaminated with PCBs and heavy metals. Bioaccumulation of PCBs within the marine food chain has resulted in closing certain areas to lobstering, shellfishing, and fishing; in other areas the frequency of fish and shellfish meals are subject to advisories. Surrounding area: About 100,000 people live within 3 miles of the site. Within a mile radius of the site, 50% of the population are people of color and 45% are considered low-income. Remediation: Ongoing cleanup activities include the removal and disposal of contaminated shoreline soils, salt marshes, and mudflats; replanting impacted salt marsh areas with thousands of native grasses, shrubs, and trees; subtidal dredging (below the low-tide line) was completed in 2020; about a million cubic yards of PCB-contaminated material has been dredged from the harbor and disposed of in a licensed PCB landfill; signs warning the public of the presence of PCBs in the harbor have been posted. Potentially responsible parties: Pages of documents. Taxpayer cleanup cost: At least $72.7 million. Last year the EPA announced the decades-long work to address PCB contamination in harbor sediments is on track to be completed in about three years, thanks to a major commitment from the Biden administration to allocate $72.7 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Status: The contamination is being addressed in stages — initial actions and three long-term remedial phases focusing on the hot spot area; the upper and lower harbor areas; and the outer harbor Buzzards Bay area. Current use: Active harbor. Norwood PCBs
Location: Norwood Size: 26 acres Placed on NPL: 1986 History: From 1942 through the mid-’80s, several businesses made and maintained electrical components on the property. Contamination: PCBs. Impact: During site investigations, EPA found PCBs in soil and groundwater on the site and in the sediment of a nearby brook. Surrounding area: Commercial. Remediation: Removal of contaminated soil and sediment and consolidating it beneath an asphalt cap; demolition of on-site structures; long-term monitoring; a groundwater treatment facility operated on the site until 2001. Potentially responsible parties: ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. The state is responsible for at least 10% of the costs of the remedial action, and all future operation and maintenance of the remedial action. The treatment plant was built at cost of about $11 million. Status: Removed from the NPL in 2011. Current use: In 2008, the site owner and developers completed a 56,000-square-foot commercial retail facility. New buildings were constructed next to the capped area and the thickness of the asphalt cap was increased to allow for its use as a parking lot. As of December 2021, EPA had data on 20 on-site businesses. Significant progress has been made toward cleaning up of the site, including the removal of contaminated soil from the holding basin. (Town of Concord) Nuclear Metals Inc.
Location: Concord Size: 46 acres Placed on NPL: 2001 History: Nuclear Metals made depleted uranium products, primarily for armor-piercing ammunition. It also manufactured metal powders for medical applications, photocopiers, and specialty metal products such as beryllium tubing used in the aerospace industry. From 1958-85, waste was discharged into an unlined holding basin. Facility operations contaminated soil and groundwater with hazardous chemicals. Contamination: 1,4-dioxane; VOCs. Impact: Contaminants in groundwater were shown to be impacting the town of Acton’s water supply wells. Surrounding area: Camp Thoreau; pond; residential. Remediation: Excavation and off-site disposal of some 82,500 cubic yards of contaminated materials; removal of 3,800 drums of depleted uranium; installation of a fence around and cap on the on-site landfill. Potentially responsible parties: In 2001 and 2002, EPA issued notice of potential liability letters to Starmet Corp. and Starmet NMI Corp., the Army, MONY Life Insurance Co., the Whittaker Corp., Textron Inc., and the U.S., Department of Energy. These parties either owned or operated the facility, generated waste that were shipped to the facility or arranged for the disposal of waste at the facility. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. In 2019, the EPA filed a consent decree with the four parties responsible for contamination at the site. Under the agreement, the United States, on behalf of the Army and U.S. Department of Energy, along with Textron Inc. and the Whittaker Corp., will address the cleanup of the site at an estimated cost of about $125 million. Status: The site’s long-term cleanup is ongoing. Current use: The facility is still engaged in specialty metals research and development and metal manufacturing using depleted uranium, beryllium, and other hazardous substances. Nyanza Chemical Waste Dump
Location: Ashland Size: 35 acres Placed on NPL: 1983 History: From 1917-78, various companies made textile dyes, dye intermediates, and other products at the site. More than 45,000 tons of chemical sludges generated by Nyanza’s wastewater treatment processes, along with spent solvents and other chemical wastes, were buried on the site. Operators also released wastewater into a system of lagoons and storage areas that were periodically drained. Solid material was placed on Magunco Hill, and wastewater was directed to series of drainageways and wetlands to the Sudbury River. These improper waste-handling practices resulted in extensive contamination. Large volumes of industrial wastewater containing high levels of acids and numerous organic and inorganic chemicals, including mercury, were generated, leading to soil and groundwater contamination. Indoor air samples collected in buildings above a contaminated groundwater plume indicated potentially unsafe levels of VOCs. Contamination: Solvents; mercury; VOCs. Impact: Sediment and fish tissue monitoring for mercury has been conducted in impacted reaches of the Sudbury River, and fish consumption advisories have been posted. Surrounding area: Residential. Remediation: Excavation of sludge and contaminated soils and sediments from the property and surrounding wetlands; landfill cap over contaminated soils; installation of sub-slab depressurization systems to stop VOC vapors from migrating into buildings; extensive wetland restoration. Potentially responsible parties: In 1982 EPA issued notice letters to 18 potentially responsible parties. The agency issued a second round of letters in January 1991 to 21 potentially responsible parties. In 1994 EPA issued special notice letters to sixteen 16 parties, including Rohm Tech Inc. and Nyacol Products Inc. to begin formal settlement negotiations. Several RODs. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. The estimated cost to cleanup the site was $20.5 million. Status: MassDEP conducts operation and maintenance activities for remedies implemented at the site. The excavation of contaminated soil and capping has reduced the potential of exposure to hazardous substances by controlling contaminant migration and isolating wastes. Wetland excavations and restoration have eliminated the ongoing mercury contamination source to the Sudbury River. Current use: Several businesses, including NYACOL Nano Technologies, continue to operate on or next to the site. In December 2019, a ground-mounted solar array began operating on the site’s landfill cap. Olin Chemical
Location: Wilmington Size: 53 acres Placed on NPL: 2006 History: A chemical manufacturing facility made specialty chemicals for the rubber and plastics industry from 1953 until it closed in 1986. During the facility’s operation, wastes were released to the environment, including from disposal on the property in unlined and leaking lagoons and due to spills. These discharges resulted in groundwater contamination both on and off the property. Contamination: TCE; DAPL; n-nitrosodimethylamine. Impact: In late 2002 and 2003, the town took its drinking water supply wells in the Maple Meadow Brook aquifer, downgradient of the property, off-line due to the detection of n-nitrosodimethylamine. TCE was also detected in the water supply. Surrounding area: Commercial/industrial district. Remediation: Excavation of the former waste lagoons; excavation of drums and other bulk wastes; construction of a slurry wall around the former waste pits; excavation of Lake Poly and other hot spots; operation of a pump and treat system; capping of the calcium sulfate landfill; more than a million gallons of DAPL has been removed from a pool known as the “Jewel Drive DAPL pool.” Potentially responsible parties: ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. The cleanup was estimated to cost about $48 million. Status: Cleanup actions, monitoring, and sampling continue. Current use: The site is inactive and fenced off. Otis Air National Guard Base/Camp Edwards
Location: Barnstable County, Cape Cod Size: 22,000 acres Placed on NPL: 1989 History: Since its establishment in 1935, the base’s primary mission has been to provide training and housing to Air Force and Army units. Historical chemical and fuel spills, fire training activities, and sewage treatment plant, landfill, and drainage structure operations contaminated soil and groundwater. Contamination: VOCs; heavy metals such as arsenic and lead; beryllium; TCE. Impact: Investigations in 1983 and 1984 found VOCs in on-site and nearby monitoring wells, as well as in several hundred private wells. Surrounding area: Southeast of the Cape Cod Canal. Remediation: Some 15,000 acres have been investigated; installation of 1,200 monitoring wells in more than 700 locations; collection of some 100,000 groundwater and soil samples; 120,000 tons of soil has been excavated and treated; about 300 acres have been partially cleared of unexploded ordnance, with 600 tons of munitions-related scrap recycled; 18,500 cubic yards (about 27,750 tons) of range soil has been removed; 16 treatment systems have been constructed for seven groundwater plumes that are primarily contaminated with RDX, a synthetic chemical used primarily as a military explosive, and perchlorate (4.1 million gallons of groundwater are treated daily, PFAS were found in two of the plumes, and 1,4-dioxane was detected in four); installation of water supply lines to affected residents. Potentially responsible parties: Air Force and Army. Several RODs. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: EPA has completed cleanups at 25 source areas. Cleanup of a few former plumes have been completed. Investigations of PFAS and former military munitions sites are ongoing as long-term cleanup of contamination groundwater plumes continue. Current use: EPA’s cleanup plans enabled continued site operations. Five major organizations use the site, including the Massachusetts Air National Guard, the Air Force, the Coast Guard, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The Barnstable County Correctional Facility, a jail with capacity for about 580 inmates, began operating on the site in 2004. The Air Force installed three 1.5-megawatt wind turbines to offset electrical costs for groundwater cleanup systems at the site (Air Force estimates this wind energy saves about $1.5 million annually in electricity costs). Plymouth Harbor/Cannon Engineering Corp.
Location: Plymouth. Size: 2.5 acres Placed on NPL: 1983 History: The site contained aboveground storage tanks holding low levels of PAHs and lead. The tanks, which all sat between 50 feet and 180 feet from Plymouth Harbor, were built in the 1920s and used for storing fuel and oil unloaded from barges. In the 1970s, the company got a license to store oils and emulsions, solvents, lacquers, organic and inorganic chemicals, plating wastes, plating sludge, oily solids, and pesticides. Cannon Engineering stored hazardous wastes at its Plymouth facility and incinerated the wastes at its Bridgewater facility until 1980, when the company went into receivership. Contamination: PAHs; lead; motor and industrial oils; cyanide. Impact: Soil contamination. Surrounding area: Cordage Park, a business and industrial area next to Plymouth Harbor. Remediation: Removal and disposal of tanks and associated piping; sampling soil to determine the distribution of contaminants; sampling groundwater, surface water, and sediment and assessing floodplains to determine possible effects on cleanup actions; three empty storage tanks cleaned and dismantled; pipework, foundations, and 33 drums of waste transported to a licensed disposal facility; soil from two spots placed in drums and disposed of and clean fill brought in. Potentially responsible parties: ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: Removed from the NPL in 1993. Current use: Part of Cordage Park business/industrial park. PSC Resources
Location: Palmer Size: 4 acres Placed on NPL: 1983 History: A waste oil refinery and solvent recovery plant operated on the site in the 1970s. The facility reclaimed drained oils and solvents from Massachusetts collection points, treated them with heat, and sold them as lube oil base stock, road spray, and heavy fuel mixes. Millions of gallons of waste were left behind in tanks and lagoons when the owner abandoned the facility in 1978. Contamination: PCBs; VOCs; SVOCs; PAHs; heavy metals. Impact: Contamination of the site occurred due to improper containment of solvents and oils, spills, and poor maintenance activities that resulted in the contamination of soil, groundwater, and adjacent wetlands. A major release of hazardous materials to the wetlands occurred in the late ’70s during a 4,000-gallon spill from the site’s containment lagoon. Surrounding area: Quaboag River; industry; residences; commercial development. Remediation: Removal of hazardous wastes; installation of a fence; decontamination and demolition of structures and building; treatment of contaminated soils; wetland restoration. EPA has conducted several five-year reviews. The next review is scheduled to be completed in 2025. Potentially responsible parties: 272, including PSC Resources Inc., Newtown Refining Co., Refinernet International, Ag-Met Refining Co., American Airlines, Boston Edison Co., General Electric, General Dynamics Corp., and the cities of Cambridge, Gardner, Leominster, Medford, Westfield, and Worcester. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. In 1994, 165 parties agreed to pay $6 million to cover past costs and the cost of cleaning up the site. Among those who agreed to pay were — the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Navy, and the U.S. Postal Service; American Airlines; Boch Toyota; Chevron; Coca-Cola Bottling Co.; General Electric; General Dynamics; and the Massachusetts Air National Guard, Massachusetts Army National Guard, Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, and the Massachusetts Department of Highways. Status: Cleanup operations and maintenance activities are ongoing. Current use: Inactive and fenced off. Cleanup work included creating pollinator habitat and the installation of a solar-powered groundwater treatment system. (EPA) Re-Solve Inc.
Location: North Dartmouth Size: 6 acres Placed on NPL: 1983 History: A waste chemical reclamation facility operated on the site from 1956-80. Four unlined lagoons were used as disposal areas for hazardous materials and tires. Site operators also spread oil waste over the site to control dust. Contamination: Solvents; waste oils; organic liquids and solids; acids; alkalizes; inorganic liquids and solids; PCBs. Impact: Operations contaminated soil, sediment, and groundwater. Surrounding area: 1,142 people live within a mile of the site and 8,535 live within 3 miles. Remediation: About 22,500 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated soil above the groundwater table were excavated and treated by removing contaminants using dechlorination and then placing the soil back with 18 inches of gravel capping; another 3,000 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated sediments were excavated from wetland areas and treated through dechlorination; an acre of wetlands restored. Potentially responsible parties: In 1983, EPA identified 270 potentially responsible parties. There ended up being 605 possible parties, including Data General Corp., General Electric, General Instrument Corp., and Nuclear Metals Inc. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. In 2003, the U.S. Department of Justice and the EPA entered into a settlement agreement with Vulcan International Corp. in connection with the site. Under the settlement, Vulcan, one of the potentially responsible parties in the case, was held responsible to reimburse the Superfund account in the amount of $3.8 million. The Vulcan settlement was the last in a series of settlements with defendants who were named in an enforcement action filed in 1990. These defendants had declined to participate in earlier settlements that had been offered to all of the parties potentially involved. The first settlement was entered into in 1989 with 224 potentially responsible parties. Under that settlement, the parties agreed to perform the remedy selected by the EPA for the site and agreed to reimburse the EPA for certain response costs. Later in 1989, the EPA entered into an administrative settlement with 170 additional parties responsible for the contamination. In 1990, the United States filed an action against 19 parties that had refused to join the prior settlements. Status: Groundwater treatment and monitoring are ongoing. Current use: Restored wetland and pollinator habitat and a solar-powered groundwater treatment system. Rose Disposal Pit
Location: Lanesborough Size: 1.5 acres Placed on NPL: 1984 History: Beginning in 1951 and continuing through 1959, waste oils and solvents from the General Electric plant in nearby Pittsfield were disposed of in an open trench at the site. In 1980, the state inspected the site and found 15,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil. Contamination: PCBs and VOCs. Impact: Two plumes of contaminated groundwater were discovered moving to the east and south away from the disposal area. Surrounding area: The site is bounded on the north and northeast by the deciduous forest of Balance Rock State Park; on the east and southeast by cropland and pasture; on the west by mixed forest; on the southwest by a residential area. Remediation: Providing an alternate water supply to affected residents; removing and treating contaminated soil; covering the disposal area. Potentially responsible parties: General Electric. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: The groundwater extraction and treatment system, built in 1993, will continue to operate until site cleanup levels are met. Current use: Inactive and fenced off. Salem Acres
Location: Salem Size: 235 acres Placed on NPL: 1986 History: From 1946 through 1969, 4 acres of the site received sludge, grit, and grease from the South Essex Sewerage District through an agreement with the property owners. The sludge, which included tannery waste, was placed in eight unlined, uncovered disposal pits. Contamination: PCBs; VOCs; SVOCs; arsenic; dioxin; chromium. Impact: There also was a fly ash disposal area next to the sludge lagoons and an old landfill area adjacent to the fly ash pile, creating a total of 13 acres of contamination. Surrounding area: Residential and MacArthur Park. Potentially responsible parties: Between 1985 and 1992, EPA notified nine potential responsible parties who either owned or operated the site, generated waste that was shipped to the site, arranged for the disposal of waste at the site, or transported waste to the site of their potential liability. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Remediation: Treated 3 million gallons of contaminated surface and groundwater; removed 100,000 cubic yards of hazardous sludge and soils. Status: Removed from the NPL in 2001. Current use: In 2019, a developer expanded a nearby neighborhood of single-family homes onto part of the site. A total of 27,083 tons of waste material was transported off the site for disposal. (EPA) Shpack Landfill
Location: Attleboro and Norton Size: 9.4 acres Placed on NPL: 1986 History: The landfill operated from 1946 until the 1970s. The landfill received domestic and industrial wastes, including inorganic and organic chemicals, as well as radioactive waste ashes associated with nuclear fuel operations. A total of 27,083 tons of waste material was transported off the site for disposal. Contamination: Radium; uranium; zirconium ashes; VOCs; PCBs; dioxins and furans. Impact: Facility operations contaminated soil, sediment, and groundwater. Surrounding area: The site is bounded in the north by Peckham Street/Union Road, by Chartley Swamp in the south and east, and by the ALI landfill in the west. Remediation: Excavation and off-site disposal of contaminated soil; installation of a water supply line; stormwater drainage improvements; wetland creation and restoration. Potentially responsible parties: In 1990, a group of potentially responsible parties formed the Shpack Steering Committee (SSC) and individual companies comprising the SSC entered into an administrative consent order with the EPA that required them to conduct the remedial investigation and feasibility study. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. In 2008, a multiparty settlement involving the federal government entered into an agreement to ensure that cleanup efforts at the site proceeded. The defendants signing the agreement included — the city of Attleboro, Avnet Inc., Bank of America, BASF Catalysts LLC, Chevron Environmental Management Co. (for itself and on behalf of Kewanee Industries Inc.), ConocoPhillips Co., Handy & Harman, International Paper Co., KIK Custom Products Inc., the town of Norton, Swank Inc., Teknor Apex Co., Texas Instruments Inc., and Waste Management of Massachusetts Inc. Under terms of the consent decree, the defendants will perform the remainder of the site-wide cleanup of chemical wastes and other contaminants. The work was estimated to cost $29 million. Status: Removed from NPL in 2017. Current use: The site is maintained by the city of Attleboro. Most of the site is grass covered with some restored wetland. The city provides a continuing presence at the site for long-term monitoring and maintenance. This site contaminated groundwater with high VOC levels that exceeded 500 ppm at multiple locations. (EPA) Silresim Chemical Corp.
Location: Lowell Size: 4.5 acres Placed on NPL: 1982 History: Starting in 1971, Silresim began reclaiming a variety of chemical wastes, waste oil, solvents, and sludges. In 1977, Silresim declared bankruptcy and abandoned the property, leaving behind 30,000 decaying drums and several large storage tanks. Investigations revealed the property had been poorly maintained and revealed evidence of numerous spills, leakage of drums, discharges to city sewers, and runoff to adjacent properties. Contamination: Heavy metals; VOCs. Impact: Groundwater contains high levels of many VOCs, exceeding 500 ppm at multiple locations, in both the shallow and deeper part of the aquifer, and extending in all directions from the property. Surrounding area: About 10,000 people live within a mile and an estimated 24,000 people live within 3 miles. East Pond is several hundred feet southeast of the property. Remediation: Groundwater treatment plant began operations in 1995; fencing; removal of all structures; clay cap placed over the property; crushed stone was placed over areas of surficial soil contamination. Potentially responsible parties: In 1983, EPA notified 325 parties who had owned or operated the facility, generated waste that was shipped to the facility, arranged for the disposal of waste at the site, or transported waste to the facility that they were potentially liable. In 1985, the EPA issued an administrative order to the Silresim Site Trust, a group of 200 potential responsible parties who agreed to undertake a remedial investigation and feasibility study. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: Groundwater treatment, maintenance activities, and monitoring are ongoing. Current use: Home to the Tanner Street District, an area of the city that blends heavy industry with residential uses over some 125 acres in Lowell's Sacred Heart neighborhood. Much of the area is zoned for industrial uses, with commercial and residential uses permitted along its periphery. South Weymouth Naval Air Station
Location: Weymouth, Abington, and Rockland Size: 1,442 acres Placed on NPL: 1994 History: Military operations at the site included aviation training, aircraft maintenance and refueling, personnel training, housing, and administrative support services. Waste disposal activities also took place at the site. Sampling confirmed contamination in 1991. Contamination: PCBs; arsenic, dioxin; PAHs, dieldrin; lead; benzo[a]pyrene. Impact: Contaminated soils and groundwater. Surrounding area: Partially developed urban area with some remaining wetlands and forest. Remediation: Removing debris from and restoring adjacent wetlands; excavating PCB-impacted material from wetlands; constructing a soil cover on the site; excavation of soil and sediment containing chemicals of concern at concentrations exceeding standards. Potentially responsible parties: Navy. Several RODs. Taxpayer cleanup cost: About $90 million. Status: Ongoing monitoring and maintenance. Current use: Since the base closed in 1997, ongoing redevelopment efforts have created 1,200 residences and a 25-acre athletic complex. Current mixed-use zoning allows for up to 6 million square feet of commercial space and nearly 4,000 residences, along with 1,000 acres of open space. Sullivan’s Ledge
Location: New Bedford Size: 12 acres Placed on NPL: 1984 History: A quarry operated on the site until 1921. In 1935, the city took over the site and turned it into a dump for hazardous materials. Waste disposal activities took place on the site through the ’70s. The city then closed the dump and backfilled the disposal areas. In 1982, during investigations associated with a proposed parking lot development, the state found soil contamination. Contamination: PCBs; electrical capacitors; fuel oil; volatile liquids; tires; scrap rubber; demolition materials. Impact: Soil contamination. Surrounding area: A mix of businesses, ecological areas, and a golf course. Remediation: Excavation and disposal of sediments from the stream and the golf course water hazards; capping an 11-acre area to cover the quarry pits and contain contaminated surface soils and sediments that would be placed on the site; restoration of 13 acres of wetlands. Potentially responsible parties: Between November 1988 and May 1990, EPA notified 23 parties who either owned or operated the site, generated waste that was shipped to the site, arranged for the disposal of waste at the site, or transported waste to the site that they were potentially liable. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. The federal government eventually sued 15 New Bedford companies and the city to pay for the cleanup. The companies paid about $15 million for the cleanup, while the city contributed in-kind services for the effort and operate the water treatment plant on the site for an estimated 30 years (to 2030) or until all contaminated groundwater is treated. Status: Groundwater treatment, maintenance, and monitoring are ongoing. Current use: EPA’s cleanup approach allowed for the continued use of the golf course. Wetlands restoration work finished in 2002. Today, the wetlands provide habitat for many wildlife species, including the great blue heron, great egret, red-tailed hawk, and spotted turtle. In 2013, a 1.8-megawatt solar project on the capped part of the site. Sutton Brook Disposal Area
Location: Tewksbury Size: 50 acres Placed on NPL: 2001 History: From 1957 until 1988, a landfill operated on the site, accepting municipal, commercial, and industrial wastes. Contamination: VOCs; heavy metals; SVOCs; pesticides; 1,4-dioxane; acrylonitrile. Impact: Dumping and landfill practices contaminated soil and groundwater. The main sources of the contamination were two landfill areas separated by Sutton Brook. Surrounding area: 3,809 people live within a mile and 41,361 live within 3 miles. Remediation: Excavation and removal of contaminated soils and deteriorated drums; consolidation of the material in the on-site landfills and landfill capping; groundwater collection and treatment. Potentially responsible parties: In 2000 and 2001, the EPA notified 12 potential responsible parties of their potential liability. There ended by being 78 possible parties, including the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, the Massachusetts Electric Co., New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc., and the Raytheon Co. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. In 2009, a settlement worth about $30 million to cleanup the site was reached. The agreement resolved federal and state liability claims against 49 potentially responsible parties. Under the settlement, 20 of the parties will be responsible for implementation of the remedy selected by the EPA in 2007. These parties will also pay for the state’s past response costs, oversight costs incurred by EPA and MassDEP, and $1.65 million to the U.S. Fish $ Wildlife Service and the state for natural resource damages claims stemming from injuries to groundwater and wetlands. The 20 defendants responsible for performing the cleanup include — Ausimont Industries Inc.; BASF Corp.; Boston and Maine Corp.; Browning-Ferris Industries Inc.; Allied Waste Systems Inc.; BFI Waste Systems of North America LLC; BTU International Inc.; E.I. DuPont De Nemours and Co.; Honeywell International Inc.; Mallinckrodt LLC; M/A-COM Inc.; Raytheon Co.; Sears, Roebuck and Co.; Textron Systems Corp.; town of Tewksbury, Verizon New England Inc.; Waste Management of Massachusetts Inc.; Waste Management Disposal Services of Massachusetts Inc.; Waste Management of New Hampshire Inc. and Zeneca Inc. Status: Restrictions limit groundwater use and protect the landfill cap. Current use: Restored wetlands provide habitat for native plants and animals. In June 2020, MassDEP approved the town’s request to install solar arrays on the site. W.R. Grace & Co. Inc.
Location: Acton and Concord Size: 260 acres Placed on NPL: 1983 History: The site was the former location of the American Cyanamid Co. and the Dewey & Almy Chemical Co. These companies produced sealants for rubber containers, latex products, plasticizers, and resins. W. R. Grace bought the properties and operations in 1954. Grace operations included production of materials used to make concrete, container sealing compounds, latex products, and paper and plastic battery separators. Effluent wastes were disposed of in several unlined lagoons and solid and hazardous wastes were placed into an on-site industrial landfill and several other disposal areas. Contamination: Vinylidene chloride; vinyl chloride; benzene; ethylbenzene; phthalates; metals; cyanide; formaldehyde; phenol. Impact: In 1973, residents in South Acton filed complaints about periodic odors and irritants in the air around the plant. Sampling of two public supply wells by the town of Acton in 1978 indicated these municipal wells contained detectable concentrations of 1,1-dichloroethene. As a result, the town temporarily closed the two wells. Benzene, toluene, xylene, tetrachloroethene, and chloroform were detected in surface water samples from Fort Pond Brook. Surrounding area: The site is bounded to the north by Fort Pond Brook and to the east and south by the Assabet River. Residential properties border the site to the northeast, northwest, east, and west and several industrial properties border the site to the south and northeast. Industrial parks and a gravel pit border the site to the south. Remediation: Lagoon closure; removal of contaminated soil; capping of contaminated soils and sludges from the site's former waste disposal areas in the former industrial landfill; about 8,100 cubic yards of contaminated sediments were removed from Sinking Pond and some 2,040 cubic yards of contaminated sediments were removed from the North Lagoon wetland. Potentially responsible parties: W.R. Grace & Co. Inc. and Solvents Recovery Service of New England Inc. Two RODs. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. In 2007, W.R. Grace agreed to a $34 million bankruptcy settlement for cleanup costs at 32 Superfund sites across the country, including this one. Status: Groundwater contamination has been greatly reduced across the site through the operation of multiple groundwater extraction and treatment systems. The remaining groundwater contamination is being addressed through a combination of monitored natural attenuation and the operation of a landfill area treatment system, which extracts and treats contaminated groundwater downgradient of the former industrial landfill. Current use: A 4.5-megawatt solar array on part of the site supplies 4.5% of Acton’s power supply needs, enough to power 625 homes. This site was the location of a chromium electroplating facility that operated from 1940 to 2007. (EPA) Walton & Lonsbury Inc.
Location: Attleboro Size: 2.7 acres Placed on NPL: 2013 History: Walton & Lonsbury was the location of a chromium electroplating facility that operated from 1940 to 2007. A number of chemicals and chemical compounds were used and left as waste. From 1940-70, most of the waste was directly discharged into wetlands on the southern portion of the site via an underground pipe. After 1970, a number of different waste disposal practices were used, including a surface impoundment and lagoon. Contamination: Metals, including chromium, hexavalent chromium, cyanide, and lead; PAHs such as benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, and dibenzo(a,h)anthracene; petroleum hydrocarbons; VOCs such as 1,1-dichloroethylene, 1,1-dichloroethane, cis-1,2-dichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, trichloroethylene, and vinyl chloride. Impact: Starting in 1983, numerous environmental investigations have occurred at the site. Several rounds of indoor air and soil gas sampling were conducted between 2000 and 2010. Houses were selected for indoor air and soil gas testing based on detections of elevated concentrations of VOCs in groundwater samples collected from nearby monitoring wells. Contaminated surface soil was identified on several residential properties abutting Bliss Brook. Surrounding area: Mixed residential and industrial. Remediation: Demolition of the building; removal of the chromium dipping tanks; fencing; excavation of contaminated soils. Potentially responsible parties: ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. The estimated cost of cleaning up the site was about $22 million. Status: Groundwater treatment, maintenance, and monitoring are ongoing. Current use: Inactive and fenced off. Wells G&H
Location: Woburn Size: 330 acres Placed on NPL: 1983 History: Past operations at the site include dry cleaning, solvent storage, truck terminals, drum disposal, and plastics manufacturing. Contamination: VOCs; pesticides; PCBs; PAHs; metals. Impact: In 1979 MassDEP discovered significant levels of hazardous chemicals in two municipal supply wells. The wells were closed and a supplemental water supply was arranged for the city. Surrounding area: Near the intersection of interstates 93 and 95; 1,063 people live within a half-mile and 72,202 live within 2.5 miles. Remediation: Excavation and incineration of 2,100 cubic yards of contaminated soils and filling the excavated areas; treating additional contaminated soil by extracting soil vapors; pumping contaminated groundwater and removing contaminants for treatment. More than 540 million gallons of groundwater have been pumped from the contaminated aquifer and treated, and more than 4,700 pounds of contaminants have been removed by the treatment systems. About 1,602 tons of contaminated soil have been removed. Potentially responsible parties: Three RODs. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. In 2020, the EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice reached a settlement with 16 parties that required the design and implementation of cleanup actions in the southwestern portion of the site. Under the proposed consent decree, three current or former owners or operators of parcels within the site (ConAgra Grocery Products Co. LLC, Beatrice Co., and Murphy’s Waste Oil Service Inc.) are responsible for performing the cleanup work at the site. In addition, 13 arrangers for disposal of hazardous substances at the site were required to make payments into a trust fund, to be used by the settling defendants performing the cleanup to help finance that effort. The settling defendants were — Atos IT Solutions and Services Inc.; BASF Corp.; Cognis USA LLC; the Gillette Co.; Goulston Technologies Inc.; Pharmacia LLC, by it attorney-in-fact, Monsanto Co.; NSTAR Electric Co. d/b/a Eversource Energy; the Sherwin-Williams Co.; Stepan Co.; Organix LLC; OSRAM SYLVANIA Inc.; Varian Medical Systems Inc.; and W.R. Grace & Co. The estimated cost of cleaning up the site was $70 million. Status: Cleanup activities are ongoing across the site. Current use: The Aberjona Nature Trail was built along the Aberjona River and opened to the public in 2017. As of December 2021, EPA had data on 396 on-site businesses.
Location: Barkhamsted and New Hartford Size: 98 acres Placed on NPL: 1989 History: Between 1974 and 1993, the 11-acre unlined landfill accepted municipal and industrial wastes, including oily metal grindings, sludge, and bulky items. Initial groundwater contamination was identified in 1981. In 1995, the landfill was closed under state solid waste regulations. Contamination: Cadmium; chromium; copper; lead; manganese; nickel; zinc; trichloroethylene (TCE); cis-1,2-dichloroethylene. Impact: TCE and cis-1,2-dichloroethylene were found in the Barkhamsted town garage drinking water well. Antimony, arsenic, and selenium were detected at low levels in three private wells. Site-related metals were found in the soil on two residential properties near the landfill. Surrounding area: Rural and residential, and all properties near the site rely on on-site drinking water wells. Remediation: Landfill cap; a runoff and leachate collection and treatment system; gas collection system; fence around the cap; long-term groundwater, surface water, and sediment monitoring. Potentially responsible parties: 78, including the Coca Cola Co.,Cooper Industries Inc., the Eaton Corp., and the towns of Barkhamsted, Colebrook, New Hartford, and Winchester. Record of Decision (ROD). Taxpayer cleanup cost: At least $4.5 million. In 1999, the landfill was capped using $4.5 million in state Superfund money under a consent order with the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP). Responsible parties implemented the groundwater monitoring program and continue to monitor the drinking water wells closest to the landfill. Status: A fourth five-year review, completed in September 2018, found the cleanup to be protective of human health and the environment. Current use: Part of the site is used as a transfer station and recycling center and another section hosts a solar facility that generates 1.5 megawatts of electricity and helps offset transfer station operating costs. Beacon Heights Landfill
Location: Beacon Falls Size: 83 acres Placed on NPL: 1983 History: Between 1920 and 1979, the 34-acre landfill was used for the disposal of industrial and municipal waste, including oils, chemical liquids, sludges, solvents, rubber, and plastics. Landfill operations included open burning, along with burial of non-combustibles. In 1970, Beacon Heights Inc. bought the site property and expanded the landfill area. That year the state began regulating the site. Contamination: Benzene; chlorobenzene; chlorethane; methylene chloride; lead. Impact: During a 1984 EPA investigation, sampling detected benzene and several other solvents in two private wells on Skokorat Road at levels exceeding state drinking water standards. Bottled water was provided to these residences. Subsequently, most local residences have been hooked up to public water. Surrounding area: The site is about 2 miles east of the intersection of routes 8 and 2; Hockanum Brook is a half-mile northwest and flows into the Naugatuck River 2 miles to the west. About 44 homes are within a half-mile of the site and the nearest residences lie about a 1,000 feet away; 800 people live within a mile of the site. Remediation: Consolidation of waste; installation of a multi-layered protective landfill cap; installation of gas vents; installation of a leachate and seep collection system. Potentially responsible parties: Beacon Heights Coalition. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. The site was capped by the responsible party in 1995. Continuing activities conducted by the Beacon Heights Coalition include regular groundwater monitoring and reporting, leachate monitoring and reporting, regular inspections, and maintenance of the cap. The estimated remedial action cost was $2.24 million. Status: Physical cleanup work finished in September 1998. Current use: Vacant and inactive. This site on Broad Brook remains vacant and the property’s historic mill is in a dilapidated state. (EPA) Broad Brook Mill
Location: East Windsor Size: 10.6 acres Placed on NPL: 2000 History: The site has a long history of use. The property encompassed by the site includes two lots for both commercial and residential purposes — one 8.67-acre lot is occupied by a former industrial mill building converted into a residential condominium building and two garage units and the other 1.93-acre lot is occupied by a commercial complex and a two-story brick office building. The site was used for industry dating back to at least 1835, when a woolen mill was built by the Phelps Manufacturing Co., displacing earlier gristmills, sawmills, and a tannery. In 1849, the Broad Brook Co. bought the mill and continued manufacturing woolen products until 1951. To power the woolen mill, the Broad Brook Co. operated a coal gasification plant, which contaminated the site with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as coal gasification byproducts. In 1954, United Aircraft Corp., now United Technologies Corp., bought the property and owned it until 1977. From 1954-67, United Technologies manufactured printed circuit boards. In May 1985, the site was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places. The following May, a fire destroyed many of the former mill buildings. Two months after the fire, the owners, Connecticut Building Corp., applied for a permit to develop 21 residential condominium units in the former mill building that survived the fire. Some of the contamination stems from mill operation, while some occurred several decades ago when a Raytheon subsidiary owned the site. Contamination: PAHs; volatile organic compounds (VOCs); semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs); coal tar; cyanide; lead; mercury; coal ash. Impact: The building was converted into the Millbrook Condominiums in the early 1990s, but by 1998, condo owners began filing lawsuits against the developers due to the presence of toxic contaminants in the soil. The condos were shut down in the early 2000s, and the area has been fenced off since. Surrounding area: The site is in the Broad Brook section of town. Remediation: A remedial action plan is in place. Potentially responsible parties: Raytheon Technologies Corp. and Hamilton Sundstrand Corp. Deferral Agreement. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: Removed from the NPL in 2021. Current use: Vacant. The historic mill is in a dilapidated state. Cheshire Groundwater Contamination
Location: Cheshire Size: 15 acres Placed on NPL: 1990 History: The site has been leased by several manufacturing tenants. A major part of the site was owned by Cheshire Associates, a New York-based partnership, from 1966 to 1984. The company leased the property to Valley National Corp. from 1966-79 and to Cheshire Molding Co. from 1979-80. Both companies made plastic molding, and neither kept records of disposal practices or waste quantities. Airpax Corp. Plant 2, which made electromechanical and electronic devices, leased the property from 1983-95 and disposed of its wastes in accordance with state regulations. Contamination: Organic chemicals and solvents. Impact: Operations contaminated soil and groundwater with chemicals and solvents, including a plume of contaminated groundwater. Surrounding area: Commercial and residential. Remediation: In 1983, Cheshire Associates removed 20 cubic yards of contaminated soil. EPA extended the public water supply to residents with drinking water wells affected by site contamination. Potentially responsible party: Cheshire Associates. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: Removed from NPL in 1997. Current use: Carten Controls relocated to the site in 1996. It continues to operate its semiconductor parts manufacturing facility on the site. The construction of the water main extension from Middletown began in September 2019. (State of Connecticut) Durham Meadows
Location: Durham Size: The outer limits of the site are defined by the surrounding 100-acre area of groundwater contamination. Placed on NPL: 1989 History: The Merriam Manufacturing Co. and the Durham Manufacturing Co. made metal cabinets, boxes, and other items on site from 1851 until 1998. The groundwater in Durham Center was contaminated by the release of chemicals into the soil and groundwater at two manufacturing facilities due to past disposal of wastewater in lagoons or sludge drying beds, spills at both facilities, and inadequate drum storage practices. Contamination: TCE; 1,4-dioxane; chlorinated solvents; 1,1,1-trichloroethane; methylene chloride; VOCs. Impact: Groundwater contamination was first detected at the Frank Ward Strong Middle School in 1970. Additional investigation revealed widespread contamination in Durham Center, leading to the installation of carbon filters at the properties with contaminated wells. Twelve properties were contaminated with 1,4-dioxane that could not be effectively removed by carbon filters and relied on provided bottled water for potable uses. The contaminates polluted or potentially polluted more than 100 private wells. EPA began the installation of the water line to provide an alternative water supply in September 2019. Most of the water line construction work was completed in 2021 and was finished last year — the end to a more than 30-year effort to provide clean drinking water to an area that stretches about a quarter-mile along the 200 block of Durham’s Main Street. Surrounding area: The site includes historic Main Street in Durham center and contains industrial and residential properties. It is bounded by Talcott Lane to the north; Brick Lane, Ball Brook, and Allyn Brook to the East; wetlands west of Maple Avenue to the west; and, based the intersections of Maple Avenue and Fowler Avenue with Main Street to the south. Remediation: Providing an alternate water supply for affected residents; removing contaminated soil; monitoring and containing groundwater contamination; placing restrictions on land and groundwater use; investigating areas with possible indoor air risks. Potentially responsible parties: Merriam Manufacturing and Durham Manufacturing. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: At least $7.7 million, to address the legacy groundwater and soil contamination at the site and to provide “opportunity for economic development now that a reliable source of water is available.” Status: All of the residential properties with contaminated water supplies have been connected to the new water system. Remediation of the sites has been completed. Current use: The Durham Manufacturing Co. continues to make metal boxes on the site. Commercial and public service reuses are also present, and the property is also home to a volunteer ambulance corps, the District Board of Education, churches, and businesses. Gallup’s Quarry
Location: Plainfield Size: 29 acres Placed on NPL: 1989 History: In the 1970s, the site accepted chemical wastes without a permit. DEEP and Connecticut State Police removed waste drums and contaminated soils from the site in 1978. Contamination: VOCs; SVOCs; PCBs; heavy metals. Impact: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including PFOA and PFOS, have been found on the site below at-risk EPA concentrations. Surrounding area: The abandoned gravel pit is in a rural, residential area on Tarbox Road. Remediation: No soil contamination remains on the site at concentrations greater than state remediation standards. Several VOCs remain in groundwater on the site and at several downgradient properties at concentrations greater than state remediation standards, but no drinking water wells have been affected. Potentially responsible parties: In 1993 EPA notified 40 parties, as either an owner/operator or as generators of waste that was disposed of at the site, of their potential liability. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: At least $86,250. Twenty-three of the 40 responsible parties eventually settled, agreeing to pay $345,000 or 80% of EPA's past costs incurred. Status: Long-term environmental monitoring is ongoing. Current use: The Plainfield Renewable Energy biomass facility operates on the site. The facility became fully operational in 2014. The 37.5-megawatt power plant uses waste wood to generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of about 40,000 homes. Connecticut Light & Power buys 80% of the generated energy under a 15-year agreement with the facility owner, while the remaining energy contributes to the regional renewable energy certificate market. Greenleaf Power bought the plant in 2015 and is now in charge of plant operations. Higganum Cove
Location: Haddam Size: 13 acres, 9.9 of which are tidal wetlands. Placed on NPL: 1995 History: The site had been occupied by various manufacturing operations dating back to the 1840s for dyeing of fabrics and yarn, the production of bridge netting, marine paints and mimeograph (carbonless copy) paper. The last occupant of the site, Frismar Inc., went out of business in 1983. In 1989 the mill was destroyed by fire. The property owner, Higganum Cove Inc., retained a contractor to recover scrap brick and metal, but the contractor illegally filled portions of the on-site wetlands with demolition debris, household garbage, and possibly hazardous waste. Contamination: PCBs; lead; arsenic; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Impact: Soil and surface water contamination. Surrounding area: Higganum Creek and the Connecticut River. Remediation: Removal of 8,000 tons of contaminated soil and debris; remediation of wetlands; planting of numerous trees throughout the site; topsoil grading; placement of native plants in the wetland; hydroseeding of other areas. Potentially responsible parties: None. No ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: At least $2.5 million. The cleanup was estimated to cost more than $2 million and the state spent about $500,000 to identify and characterize the contamination. Status: EPA completed the cleanup in late 2015. The owner of the property couldn’t be found and the state has taken over management of the property. Current use: The site is now home to a nature park that includes hiking trails, picnic tables, and a kayak launch. Kellogg-Deering Well Field
Location: Norwalk Size: The site covers about 140 aces of light industrial, commercial, and residential properties, including a 10-acre well field. Placed on NPL: 1984 History: The city has operated up to five municipal water supply wells on the well field portion of the site. During routine sampling in 1975, the city found elevated levels TCE and shut down the wells with unacceptable levels. A supplemental investigation identified the primary source of contamination was about a half-mile east of the well field along Main Avenue. Groundwater sampling identified a significant source of contamination below the Elinco/Pitney Bowes/Matheis Court Complex at the eastern edge of the property. Contamination: TCE; VOCs; toluene; vinyl chloride. Impact: Inspections by the DEEP between 1975 and 1980 found several hazardous chemicals in site groundwater and soils. The well field supplies about 50% of Norwalk’s public drinking water supplies. Surrounding area: The site is in the north central section of Norwalk, between Interstate 95 and the state highway 7 extension. Remediation: Installation of a wellhead treatment facility to allow continued use of the well field; soil vapor treatment; groundwater extraction and treatment. Potentially responsible parties: 21, including Elinco Associates, Pitney Bowes, Leo's Auto Body, and Norwalk First Taxing District Water Co. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: Groundwater treatment and environmental monitoring are ongoing. Current use: Commercial and residential uses, including office space, a shopping plaza, a car wash, and automotive repair facilities, and well field. Laurel Park Inc.
Location: Naugatuck Size: A landfill occupies about 20 acres of a 35-acre parcel. Placed on NPL: 1983 History: The landfill has been in existence since the late 1940s, as several industries disposed of waste there. The facility continued to operate as a municipal landfill until 1987. Facility operations led to soil, surface water, and groundwater contamination. Contamination: Solvents; oils; hydrocarbons; chemical and liquid sludge; chemical solids; tires and rubber products. Impact: Homes in the area are now served by public water, which was extended in 1989 after private drinking water wells were found to be contaminated. In the early 1980s, residential wells in the vicinity of Laurel Park were found to have contaminants believed to be site related. Surrounding area: Suburban to rural residential. Remediation: The site was cleaned in three stages — initial actions and two long-term remedial phases. Cleanup involved fencing part of the site, installing a water line, building a sewer and source control, and groundwater treatment. In 1989 EPA ordered the owners to build a sewer line connecting the leachate collection system to the Naugatuck Municipal Sewage Treatment Plant. Potentially responsible parties: In 1988 EPA notified 36 parties who either owned or operated the facility, generated waste that was shipped to the facility, arranged for the disposal of waste at the facility, or transported waste to the facility of their potential liability. There ended up being 83 possible parties, including the Laurel Park Coalition, the B.F. Goodrich Co., the borough of Naugatuck, the city of Stamford, and the town of Westport. The site was capped in 1997 by the Laurel Park Coalition. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. The estimated cost to cleanup the site was about $24 million. Status: Ongoing activities include groundwater monitoring, inspections, and monitoring of leachate discharges. Current use: Inactive and fenced off. Linemaster Switch Corp.
Location: Woodstock Size: 45 acres Placed on NPL: 1990 History: Electrical and pneumatic foot switches and wiring harness manufacturing has occurred on the site since 1952. Contamination: TCE; VOCs; benzene; methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE). Impact: Contamination of the drinking water well serving the site and of drinking water wells at several adjacent properties. Between 1991 and 1992, benzene, MTBE, and other gasoline components were found in eight private residential wells. Surrounding area: Bounded by Plaine Hill Road, Route 171, and Route 169. Remediation: An air stripper is used to treat water from the on-site well and to provide a potable source of water to the property. A water supply monitoring program was established for on- and off-site wells. The site owner is maintaining filtration systems on the affected wells. Potentially responsible parties: Linemaster Switch Corp. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. EPA provided bottled water to residents whose wells were contaminated before the cleanup. Status: Cleanup activities at the site are ongoing. Current use: The Linemaster Switch Corp. continues to manufacture electrical power switches, air valves, electrical cord sets, and metal name plates. Several residences, a banquet facility, a restaurant, and an inn are also on the site. Mitral Corp.
Location: Harwinton Size: 5 aces Placed on NPL: Didn’t quality for the list. History: The Mitral Corp. was founded in 1946 as a machining job shop that manufactured metal stamping products, tools, dies, jigs, and fixtures. The company relocated to this 29 County Line Road site in 1966, following acquisition of the 5-acre property and construction of a 12,000-square-foot building. From 1966 until about 1976, wastewater and cooling water from the operation was discharged to the ground surface and flowed to a small pond west of the building. In 1976 the state inspected the site in response to a resident’s complaint. During an inspection conducted by DEEP in 1988, a septic leaching field to the south of the building was observed to have failed. On June 23, 1989 Mitral was referred to the office of the attorney general for failure to comply with pollution abatement order and with the potable supply order. Mitral ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy. The company was out of business by 1991. Contamination: Degreasing solvents; waste oil; scrap metal; VOCs; sanitary and industrial wastewater. Impact: To address the impacted residential wells in Harwinton and Burlington, DEEP determined that extending an existing public water supply main to the affected area and providing for the connection of residences within that area to the water supply main was the best permanent remedy. In 2002 DEEP received approval for the water main extension project. It was completed circa 2006. Surrounding area: Primarily residential. Remediation: DEEP removed about 100 55-gallon drums of solvents and other wastes. Beginning in 2007, EPA removed asbestos-contaminated products, demolished an old factory building, removed sludge and storage tanks, removed and treated soil, and treated water. Potentially responsible parties: None. No ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: At least $2.4 million. Status: EPA is conducting a post remedial monitoring program to ensure the goals of groundwater protection have been met. Current use: In 2012, two residents living next to the site bought the property. The new owners planted a few hundred evergreen trees. A total of 300 tons of target and shell debris were removed from the rifle range. (EPA) Mukluk Preserve
Location: Sprague Size: 17 acres Placed on NPL: Didn’t quality for the list. History: The Mukluk Sportsman Club Inc. began operating on the property in 1955 and began using a portion of the site as a skeet shooting and rifle range beginning in 1966. Contamination: Lead and PAHs. Impact: Soil contamination. Surrounding area: The site is part of the larger 645-acre Sprague Land Preserve, which the town bought in 2005. Remediation: Excavation and disposal of about 28,000 tons of contaminated soil. In 2006, an EPA Brownfields Grant was used to determine the fence line of the contaminated area. Using this grant, an estimated 17 tons of building material, 8 tons of solid waste, and 300 tons of target and shell debris were removed and properly disposed. The town provided all of the plantings/saplings used for restoration. Potentially responsible parties: None. No ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: At least $200,000. Status: EPA has completed restoration of the site. Current use: Recreation area for hiking, fishing, hunting, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, and canoeing. New London Submarine Base
Location: Eastern bank of the Thames River in Groton and Ledyard. Size: 576 acres Placed on NPL: 1990 History: The base was established in 1868. It has served as an operation and support base for submarine activities in the Atlantic Ocean since 1916. The site contains many contaminated areas, including three landfills, chemical storage sites, tank farms, contaminated watercourses, and varying degrees of groundwater contamination. Contamination: PCBs; VOCs; lead; cadmium; PAHs. Impact: From 1957-73, VOCs, pesticides, PCBs, spent battery acids, and other wastes were buried below the water table in an 11-acre landfill near wetlands. Surrounding area: Cemetery; residential and commercial. Remediation: Contaminated sediment along the river has been largely removed, and any remaining contamination has been covered, with land-use controls to prevent disturbance. All three of the landfills have been capped. Excavation of contaminated soil. Potentially responsible parties: Navy. Several RODs. Taxpayer cleanup cost: About $24 million. Status: The Navy is the lead agency for site investigation and cleanup, with oversight provided by EPA and DEEP. Of the 40 contaminated sites originally identified, 39 have been cleaned up or closed out. The Navy is currently investigating areas that may be sources of PFAS. Current use: Active military base. Nutmeg Valley Road
Location: Wolcott Size: 3 acres Placed on NPL: 1989 History: Beginning in the 1940s, metalworking and finishing shops operated on the property. Two of these shops disposed of chemicals in site soils. Contamination: Sludge and electroplating wastes. Impact: Improper disposal practices contaminated private drinking water wells near the site. Surrounding area: The site is in an industrial park, with several metalworking and metal-finishing shops in the vicinity. Remediation: About 1,150 tons of sludge waste and contaminated soil were removed from two unlined lagoons and shipped to a disposal facility in Michigan. This action addressed the threats posed by electroplating wastes in surface soils and removed a potential point source of groundwater contamination. In 2004, the town adopted an ordinance restricting all uses of groundwater on the site and requiring that all existing groundwater wells be abandoned. Potentially responsible parties: None. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. All work is being done by EPA as a fund-lead site. Status: Removed from the NPL in 2005. Current use: Industrial, commercial, and some residential uses are ongoing at the site. The municipal landfill operated from the early 1920s until 1967. (EPA) Old Southington Landfill
Location: Southington Size: 13 acres Placed on NPL: 1989 History: The municipal landfill operated from the early 1920s until 1967. Closure activities included compacting loose waste, covering the landfill with clean soil, and reseeding the area with grass. Between 1973 and 1980, the town subdivided and sold the property for residential and commercial development. Contamination: 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA); VOCs; toluene; benzene; bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate; gamma-chlordane; heavy metals such as lead, manganese, cadmium, and barium. Impact: Construction of several homes and commercial businesses took place at the site and nearby areas. In 1979, the Connecticut Department of Public Health found elevated levels of TCA at a municipal well 700 feet northwest of the landfill. This led to permanently closing the well and conducting further investigations that revealed groundwater, soil, sediment, and surface water contamination. Three commercial facilities on the site were found to have elevated levels of methane. Surrounding area: Adjacent to Old Turnpike Road in the Plantsville section of town. Remediation: Permanent relocation of on-site homes and businesses; landfill capping; passive soil gas collection system; disposal of semi-solid sludge materials in a lined cell beneath the cap; groundwater long-term monitoring; land-use restrictions. The restrictions were adopted to prevent damage to the cap and at two downgradient properties and to keep vapors from landfill contaminated groundwater from migrating through cracks into buildings. Potentially responsible parties: 366, including the town of Southington, United Technologies Corp., Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, Solvents Recovery Service of New England Inc., General Electric, Kraft Foods Global Inc., the Navy, Shell Chemical Co., and Textron Inc. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. In 2009 two settlements were entered into federal court that provided funding to perform ongoing work at the site to protect people from groundwater contamination. The first settlement called for the five performing parties with the largest volume contributions to the site — the town of Southington, GenCorp Inc., Kraft Foods, Shell Oil, and United Technologies — to pay a lump sum of $500,000 to cover EPA’s future oversight costs, pay $537,000 to the U.S. Department of the Interior for federal natural resource damages, and pay $2,750,000 to the state of Connecticut for damages to natural resources under the state’s trusteeship. The second settlement provided for 86 parties who contributed smaller amounts of waste to the site to pay $4,248,450. Their payments will be deposited into a trust account that is being managed by the five performing parties. A portion of these funds will be used by the performing parties to make the payments to help finance state and federal natural resource damages. Status: Removed from the NPL in 2018. Current use: The northern part of the landfill was developed into a passive recreational park where people can walk their dogs, watch wildlife, and canoe in the adjacent Black Pond. The southern part of the landfill is fenced with no public access. Precision Plating Corp.
Location: Vernon Size: 3 acres Placed on NPL: 1989 History: A chromium plating company formerly known as the Precision Plating Corp. is one of several tenants in a small industrial complex known as the Hillside Industrial Park. The company has been chrome plating various metal parts and fixtures on this property since 1970. The process includes alkaline cleaning, chemical etching, rinsing, buffing, and polishing. Wastes generated include rinse waters containing heavy metals, batch wastes of alkaline cleaner, and spent plating and etching acids. Before 1983, rinse waters were discharged to a storm drain outside the building. Process plating acids and chrome plating wastes were stored in drums and in a 500-gallon tank. Contamination: Hexavalent and trivalent chromium. Impact: Wastes generated during the chrome plating process contaminated drinking water wells in the Hillside Industrial Park. In 1979, Vernon’s Health Department found the well serving the Hillside Industrial Park was contaminated with hexavalent and trivalent chromium. The rupturing of drums and a storage tank by a snow plow was likely the primary cause of contamination. Surrounding area: The site is bounded by a private residence to the north, a trailer park to the south, a large apartment complex to the east, and private residences and commercial establishments to the west. An estimated 10,800 people obtain drinking water from public and private wells within 3 miles of the site. Surface waters in the area are used for recreational fishing. The site is within a mile of a freshwater wetland. Remediation: Precision Plating Corp. complied with state orders in 1986 and installed five shallow monitoring wells, sampled surface water, removed 20 cubic yards of contaminated soil, and provided alternate drinking water supplies to a trailer park to the south. Potentially responsible parties: None. No ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: Following significant soil removal, chromium still exists at high concentrations in the groundwater, indicating the entire source has not been removed. An action memorandum for a time-critical removal action was signed by EPA in 2015 to provide temporary bottled water to affected property and connect a new water main to an exiting one that runs along the Hartford Turnpike. Five affected properties were connected to this water supply. Current use: Part of industrial park. Raymark Industries Inc.
Location: Stratford Size: 500 acres Placed on NPL: 1995 History: From 1919 until 1989, Raymark Industries made various automotive parts on a 34-acre area on the property. Disposal of manufacturing wastes took place at the former manufacturing site, on dozens of residential, commercial, and municipal properties across town, and in the wetlands next to the Housatonic River. Raymark, which went out of business after the plant closed, is no longer involved in the cleanup efforts. Contamination: Asbestos; heavy metals such as lead and copper; TCE; PCBs. Impact: Contaminated groundwater beneath the former facility impacted nearby commercial and residential areas due to the intrusion of vapors into overlying homes and buildings. Residents near the site don’t currently use groundwater for drinking purposes. Seed oysters are cultivated in the Housatonic River near some of Raymark’s historical disposal locations and crabs and clams may also be harvested for recreational purposes in the area. Selby Pond, adjacent to Ferry Creek and the Housatonic River, has warning signs posted that informs the public that eels from this pond may have high levels of PCBs. Surrounding area: The total population within 4 miles of the site is about 145,000. Remediation: Removal of contaminated soil and waste from several residential properties; capping the former manufacturing property; installing vapor mitigation systems in more than 100 homes; temporarily covering and restricting access to other properties. In the mid-1990s waste was excavated from 46 residences and a school, brought back to the factory site, and an impermeable cap was installed over the waste. Potentially responsible parties: Raymark Industries Inc. Two RODs, here and here. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. The estimated remedial action cost was about $90 million. Status: Investigation and cleanup activities continue on the other contaminated properties around town. Active cleanup of these additional contaminated properties began in September 2020. Commercial properties will be restored to existing use, including an office building, dry cleaner, karate studio, liquor store, boat yard, and a pair of car dealerships. Open spaces, wetlands, and public parks will be restored to their natural state. Current use: The Stratford Crossing Shopping Center, completed in 2003, currently occupies the property. Revere Textile Prints Corp.
Location: Sterling Size: 15 acres Placed on NPL: 1987 History: A textile processing facility first operated on site more than 50 years ago as the U.S. Finishing Co. In 1978, Revere Textile was allegedly observed dumping barrels of wastes into the Moosup River. The facility was destroyed by fire in 1980. The property was sold after the fire. At the time, there were more than 1,500 on-site drums that leaked dyes, paints, solvents, and heavy metals. The state detected about 30 compounds in the drums and soil on the site and issued an order against the new owner to clean up the site. In 1982, ownership of the site transferred to Sterling Industrial Park Corporation. After several state inspections and rounds of sampling, the drums were removed in 1983 by the new owner. An unknown quantity of contaminated soil also was removed. On-site monitoring wells were sampled in 1984 and found to be contaminated. Contamination: Solvents; oils; naphthalene; VOCs; metals such as antimony, arsenic, copper, lead, and vanadium. Impact: Facility operations and poor storage practices led to soil and groundwater contamination. Surrounding area: The site is within a town-owned industrial park. Remediation: Removal of drums; town placed restrictions on land uses, specifically limiting non-commercial development and groundwater use. Potentially responsible parties: Revere Textile. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: Removed from the NPL in 1994. Current use: Part of industrial park. Scovill Industrial Landfill
Location: Waterbury Size: 30 acres Placed on NPL: 2000 History: From 1919 until the mid-1970s, the Scovill Manufacturing Co. used the area as a landfill for ash, cinders, demolition debris, and other wastes. By the mid-’90s, developers had built condominiums, apartment buildings, small commercial buildings, and a shopping mall on an 18-acre southern portion of the site. In 1988, residential development that was underway at the Calabrese parcel uncovered industrial wastes. The DEEP issued a stop-work order and removed 2,300 tons of PCB-contaminated soil along with 19 capacitors from the Calabrese parcel. DEEP then placed a temporary soil cap over the area and fenced it. This parcel was in the initial stages of development for a proposed elderly housing complex when industrial wastes were encountered during the excavation of soil for the concrete footings. Saltire Inc. (successor to Scovill) began the remedial investigation in 2004; this work and a feasibility study were completed by EPA following Saltire’s bankruptcy. Contamination: PCBs; PAHs; VOCs. Impact: In January 2015, a vapor intrusion system was installed underneath one of the on-site buildings as a preventative measure to control soil gas from migrating into the building. Surrounding area: Densely developed with mixed commercial and residential uses. Remediation: Excavation of contaminated soils and consolidation of contaminated soil under a 2-foot-thick, 1.4-acre soil cap on the Calabrese property; excavated areas were backfilled with clean fill and restored to their original state (i.e., pavement or vegetation); wetland restoration. Potentially responsible parties: Calabrese Construction Co.; Joseph A. Calbrese; Saltire Industrial Inc.; Scovill Fasterner's Inc. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: Cleanup, maintenance, and monitoring operations are ongoing. Current use: The southern, 23-acre part of the site has been developed into residential and commercial properties. The northern portion of the site is an undeveloped 7-acre lot known as the Calabrese parcel. This site was home to a hazardous waste treatment and storage facility that disposed of sludge in two unlined lagoons. (State of Connecticut) Solvents Recovery Service of New England
Location: Southington Size: 42 acres Placed on NPL: 1983 History: The 42-acre site includes a 4-acre area, which is now fenced, and a groundwater plume. Solvents Recovery Service operated a hazardous waste treatment and storage facility and received waste industrial solvents. Sludge was disposed of in two unlined lagoons from 1957-67, when lagoons were drained and covered with fill. After the lagoons closed, wastes were burned in an open pit or disposed of off site. In the 1970s, the state ordered the end of incineration activities. Past operating practices, spills, and poor housekeeping caused the contamination. In 1991, all activities at the site stopped in preparation for closure. Contamination: VOCs; SVOCs; PFAS; oils; solvents; metals such as chromium, lead, cadmium, and barium. Impact: Two town wells, about 2,000 feet and 1,300 feet to the south, were closed in 1979 because of contamination. Surrounding area: Light industrial, residential, and agricultural uses. The facility is about 500 feet west of the Quinnipiac River. Remediation: In 1995, the site’s potential responsible parties — the companies that sent solvents to the site for processing — under EPA oversight, installed a slurry wall and an updated groundwater pump-and-treat system that consisted of ultraviolet/oxidation to clean up shallow groundwater and prevent it from migrating. In 1999, the remaining structures at the site were decontaminated and razed. Thermal treatment was conducted from 2014-15, resulting in the removal of nearly 500,000 pounds of waste oils and solvents. Since August 2018, groundwater treatment has moved from on-site to off-site at the Southington Waste Pollution Control Facility. Potentially responsible parties: At one point in the EPA investigation there were 250 potential responsible parties. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. In 2008 the federal government and the state of Connecticut reached three related settlements with numerous responsible parties to ensure funding for environmental cleanup activities at the site. EPA will receive payments totaling more than $6 million in reimbursement for past costs incurred by the federal government’s cleanup actions. In addition, settling parties under the three decrees will pay about $200,000 to resolve federal natural resource damage claims. A $2 million payment will go to the Southington Water District to reimburse the district for costs incurred finding an alternate drinking water source as a result of the contaminated groundwater. "The settlements will allow cleanup work to proceed without further costs being borne by taxpayers." Under the first settlement, a group of 59 potentially responsible parties agreed to perform the site-wide cleanup, estimated to cost about $29 million. These parties will perform the work under the oversight of EPA and the DEEP and will pay EPA and the state’s future oversight costs. Under the second settlement, 213 “de minimis” parties settled their potential liability for cleanup costs by making cash payments. Only those parties that sent relatively small volumes of waste to the site at the time that it was operating were eligible to join this settlement. Under the third settlement, one potentially responsible party, M. Swift & Sons Inc., will make a payment based on the company’s limited financial ability. Status: The groundwater pump and treatment are ongoing and will be for many years to come. Current use: The installation of a 50-kilowatt solar array on the cap in September 2018 provides the energy needed for operation and maintenance at the site. The site is also now part of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, a regional “rails-to-trails” greenway that covers about 84 miles from New Haven to Northampton, Mass. Over a period of 25 years, from the late 1940s to the early 1970s, drummed materials and bulk waste were disposed of in the lagoon. (State of Connecticut) Yaworski Waste Lagoon
Location: Canterbury Size: 800 feet by 300 feet and 12 feet deep. Placed on NPL: 1983 History: From about 1948-73, drummed materials and bulk waste, including textile dyes, solvents, resins, acids, caustics, still-bottom sludges, and solvent-soaked rags, were disposed of in the lagoon. Periodically, flammable liquid waste was burned in several pits in the lagoon area until 1965, when the Connecticut Department of Health ordered a halt to the on-site burning of waste. The combined efforts of local residents and state and local officials concerned about adverse human health and environmental effects from disposal operations led to the end of all dumping at the site in 1973, when it was dewatered and backfilled. The site was the subject of several federal and state enforcement actions. Contamination: Benzene; mercury; arsenic; 4-methylphenol; tetrahydrofuran; vinyl chloride; TCA; naphthalene. Impact: Chlorinated solvents from the lagoon flow under the Quinebaug River and have been detected in shallow groundwater on farmland across the river from the site. Sampling of nearby wells detected contaminated groundwater. Surrounding area: The site is surrounded by agricultural land and bordered by the Quinebaug River. It lies within the 100-year floodplain. Remediation: The lagoon was covered with an impermeable cap in 1990, and a permanent vegetative cover was added a year later. Improvements to the dike surrounding the lagoon were made. Potentially responsible parties: 18, including Yaworski Inc., Bemis Co. Inc., Revere Textile Prints Corp., and the Rogers Corp. ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. Status: In 2011, DEEP assumed responsibility for groundwater monitoring that had been performed by EPA. DEEP conducts groundwater monitoring three times a year, generally in April, July, and October. Current use: Inactive and fenced off. Yaworski Landfill
Location: Canterbury Size: 32 acres Placed on NPL: 1990 History: The municipal landfill was active at the site beginning in the 1950s and closing in mid-1995. The Yaworski family also operated a waste lagoon to the west of the landfill between 1949 and 1973 (see above). About two-thirds of the western part of the landfill was closed with a soil cover in 1990. The remainder of the landfill in the eastern part of the site, known as the horizontal expansion area, was not closed. Contamination: Dyes; paints; solvents; heavy metals. Impact: Homes along Packer Road rely on private drinking water wells, which have been periodically sampled. None of the drinking water wells have been impacted by landfill leachate to date. Surrounding area: Rural residential. Remediation: Installation of a multi-layer, geomembrane cap. Potentially responsible parties: Yaworski family. No ROD. Taxpayer cleanup cost: Uncertain. The cost of completing the work will be covered by funds recovered from a settlement agreement with the Yaworski family and by funds from the state Bond Commission. Status: A landfill gas collection and flare system originally installed in 1993 is no longer in operation, but the monitoring of landfill gases continues. Current use: Inactive.
Note: Information for this story was gathered from the Environmental Protection Agency, Brown University’s Superfund Research Program, the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, ToxicSites, government press releases, and media reports. To read a story about brownfield contamination in southern New England, click here. Categories Public Health & Recreation Join the Discussion View Comments Recent Comments SpiritSon says: February 21, 2023 at 11:51 pm Wow! Scary stuff… I appreciate how thorough this article is & the details on each site in RI. Yikes!! Reply Julia Beasley says: February 24, 2023 at 7:30 pm I was surprised that the Bradford Dye Mill in Westerly, RI was not on the list? Taxpayers will certainly end up footing the bill there too. It sits directly on the Wood/ Pawcatuck River. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel replyYour email address will not be published. Required fields are marked * Comment Name* Email* Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment Checkmark Δ
Wow! Scary stuff… I appreciate how thorough this article is & the details on each site in RI. Yikes!!
I was surprised that the Bradford Dye Mill in Westerly, RI was not on the list? Taxpayers will certainly end up footing the bill there too. It sits directly on the Wood/ Pawcatuck River.
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