United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region I
POLLUTION REPORT

Subject: 

The Site is located at 156 Princeton Street in a residential area of Holden, Massachusetts.  The Site includes a two-story brick and cinder block manufacturing building located on an approximately 17-acre property.  ECC Corporation conducted electroplating operations, including manufacturing of printed circuit boards, beginning in the 1950s.  The facility has been inactive and unoccupied since closing in 2005.  The building is without electricity, heat, water, or fire protection utilities.  Tanks, drums, and other containers of hazardous substances were present, primarily in the wastewater treatment area of the facility.  Hazardous substances on-site included potassium cyanide, acids, bases, flammables, metal hydroxide sludge, and lead.  See POLREP 1 for additional site background information.

See previous POLREPs for discussion of removal activities prior to March 26, 2007.

From March 26, 2007 through April 2, 2007, EPA and its contractors conducted cleanup operations in the former electroplating and wastewater treatment areas of the facility.  This cleanup included removing sludges, crystals, solids, and liquids in tanks, vats, sumps, and trenches.  These areas were then power-washed to remove residual contamination.  Wastes generated during these cleanup activites (including wash waters) were collected and containerized.  On April 9, 2007, EPA and its contractors shipped these wastes off-site for disposal.  Bulk wastewater was also pumped from a sump in the wastewater treatment area and shipped off-site for disposal.

Sludges in the above-mentioned wastewater sump will be collected, containerized, and transported off-site for proper disposal.

EPA and the START contractor will conduct sampling of surface soils and other media as needed to determine whether hazardous substances are present at levels that may pose a health threat.