The Davison Property Site (the Site) is located at 471 Second New Hampshire (NH) Turnpike (Route 31) in Hillsborough, Hillsborough County, NH. The Site is bordered by Second NH Turnpike to the south, wooded areas to the north, and residential properties to the east and west.
The approximately one acre property consists of a colonial style (circa 1800) house, two storage sheds, remnants of a third shed, a partial cinderblock wall building, a former chicken coop, a trailer camper, and numerous piles of broken household and commercial electronics equipment (computer components, TVs, stereos, etc.), metal and wood debris, and 55-gallon steel and polyethylene (poly) drum and 5-gallon poly containers. There is a short section of wooden stockade fence located along the Second NH Turnpike between the on-site residence and trailer. Access by vehicle is limited. However, pedestrian access to the property is unrestricted.
A drinking water supply well is located on the southeast side of the residence. However, the well is currently disconnected from the house. Residential private drinking water wells surround the Site. According to the Hillsborough Code Enforcement Officer (HCEO), the house is not habitable due to lack of drinking water and functional septic system. It recently was condemned due to lack of structural integrity.
Groundwater classification for the area is GB, which includes all groundwater areas not assigned to a higher level of protection and where no active management is being conducted.
An intermittent stream flows through the property from west to east and discharges to an unnamed stream which flows south and discharges to the Contoocook River – North Branch downstream of Franklin Pierce Lake/Jackman Reservoir. Areas of reddish sediments were observed in the intermittent stream, in the vicinity of the electronics components and debris piles.
There is an estimated total of 130 people reside within 0.25 mile of the Site. According to the EPA Region 1 Environmental Justice Mapping Tool, the Site is not in an environmental justice area.
At the request of New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, from June to September 2010, EPA and Weston Solution, Inc. Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team (START) conducted a Preliminary Assessment/Site Investigation (PA/SI) and observed the following:
• Numerous piles of broken household and commercial electronics equipment including computers, televisions, stereos, and other household appliances such as refrigerators; and,
• Approximately 28 55-gallon, 60 5-gallon, and 50 1-gallon or less containers; some of which are coated with residual of or partially filled with products such as paints, primers, cements, solvents, cleaners, gasoline, waste oil, motor and hydraulic oil, etc.
Hazardous substances detected during the PA/SI sampling include arsenic, lead, antimony, zinc, mercury, DEHP, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) compounds such as benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(b)fluoranthene and indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene.
As a result, the OSC recommended a time-critical removal action be conducted.
On December 16, 2010, an Action Memorandum was signed by the acting office director of the Office of Site Remediation and Restoration authorizing a removal action with the extramural removal project ceiling of $450,000.
