Background:
The Riverside Square PCB site is located along the northern bank of the Lower Neponset River within the Riverside Square area in Hyde Park. From the 1930s through the 1970s, several industries using PCBs operated in the Neponset River Basin, one of the most industrialized basins in the United States. In 1962 and 1964, to control flooding, the river was dredged by the Metropolitan District Commission, now a part of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. Dredging is the process of cleaning out the bed of the river by scooping out sediment (mud) and debris with a machine called a dredge. The dredged materials, or “spoils,” were placed in several locations along the banks of the river, essentially creating new land. The Riverside Square PCB site is one of those riverbank locations. In October 2022, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection formally requested that EPA perform further investigation of the spoils at the Riverside Square PCB site.
Current Site Status:
Beginning in April 2023, EPA began an environmental investigation to better understand the site’s PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls) contamination within the soil. For more information, please see the most recent factsheet in the document section of this website.
