For approximately 20 years, the property owner operated a junkyard until his death in March of 2003. During the junkyard operation the owner burned automotive parts onsite to remove non-recyclable materials from recyclable metal. Remaining on site there are scrap-metals, piles of tires, cylinders, batteries, mooring buoys, fuel tank with oil, hot water heaters and automobile parts. Site soils are contaminated with lead and PCBs. There is a two-story wood house (constructed in 1890) and a 12’x20’ corrugated metal shed/lean-to. Additionally, there is a 16’x16’ corrugated metal shed that currently houses a crushing machine located over a pit filled with unidentified fluids.
This inactive two acre Site is referred to as Lot 44 on the Town of Perry, Maine Property Map #18.
It is bounded:
• to the north by woods;
• to the south by Gleason Point Road and, private residences;
• to the east by private residences and a marine fabrication business; and,
• to the west by private residences.
All of the homes utilize wells for their drinking water supply. Access is not restricted. The Site is within one mile of the Little River, a tidally influenced river that flows into Passamaquoddy Bay. There is a bald eagle nest on the Little River within a ½ mile of the Site.
According to the EPA Region 1 Environmental Justice Mapping Tool, the Site is in a minority environmental justice area.
On June 20, 2006, OSC McKeown conducted a site investigation at this privately-owned property with staff from Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MEDEP). McKeown and MEDEP staff collected soil samples and submitted them to the New England Regional Laboratory for total characteristic leachate procedure (TCLP), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), base neutral acids (BNAs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)/pesticides analyses.
Sample # XRF PCBs TCLP Lead VOCs
X-26 520 0.7 1.0
X-43 665 5.7 124 Detected*
X-44 1420 7.6 36 Detected*
X-50 1650 1.2 8.2 Detected*
X-53 3010 19.7 158 Detected*
All results in parts per million (ppm).
* VOCs – trimethylbenzene, MEK, bromomethane, xylene, toluene and benzene.
toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP).
Results for samples X-43, X-44, X-50 and X-53 exceed the TCLP lead limit of 5 ppm. This means that the soil is hazardous by characteristic and is considered a RCRA waste.
