The Bay Street Mercury Site is located along A Connell Street, in Tiverton, Rhode Island, and includes the right of way areas along both sides of the road, as well as portions of adjoining residential properties. The site is located in a residential neighborhood, and is bordered by Bay Street to the west, Bottom Street to the east and residential properties to the north and south.
The Site is located within the Bay Street Study Area Site, which is a separate, ongoing project involving the removal of soil contaminated with manufactured gas plant (MGP) waste from approximately 100 properties under the direction of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM). In the course of the MGP waste cleanup, remnants of mercury-contaminated felt were encountered in surface soils in a portion of the Bay Street Study Area Site along A Connell Street. According to RIDEM files, the Site was used for the disposal of waste from a local hat factory approximately 100 years ago.
At the request of RI DEM and the town of Tiverton, EPA conducted a Removal Preliminary Assessment and Site Investigation (PA/SI). The PA/SI consisted of collecting and analyzing samples of surface soils. The results of the PA/SI supported the determination that a removal action is appropriate. In the Action Memorandum dated September 13, 2011, EPA made an endangerment determination and identified the removal of surface soils contaminated with mercury, as the goal of its proposed removal action at the Site.
Note: In 2005, EPA completed a similar removal action to address mercury-laden hat waste at a separate residential parcel located at 11 A Connell Street. The prior site was known as the “A Connell Street Superfund Site” and is not a part of the Bay Street Mercury Site.
