Site Location
The 9.6 acre Brunswick Mill Site (Site), located at 57-59 Brunswick Avenue in a residential area of the town of Plainfield, Windham County, Connecticut, is bordered to the north by the Moosup River and North Main Street (Route 14); to the east by the Moosup River; to the south by Brunswick Ave., a private residence, and a Town sewer pump station; and to the west by private residences. The site includes an abandoned two-story office building, a demolished three-story mill building, and a garage. The abandoned mill building had been destroyed by a fire in 2000, but the northern and eastern portions of the mill remain largely intact. The majority of the mill building is in a state of disrepair with portions having collapsed onto themselves or into the Moosup River, a Class A river under the Connecticut State Water Classification Program. The river is used for fishing and various other recreational activities. Approximately 57 homes are located within a quarter mile. An elementary school is located approximately half a mile away.
Description of threat
The Site was owned and operated by a defunct business, Brunswick Worsted Mills, Inc. (Brunswick) and is located adjacent to another mill operated by a related company, Carvill Combing Company (Carvill). Industrial operations took place at both facilities from the 1890s until the 1970s.
On October 21, 2000, a fire broke out and destroyed the abandoned mill building. After the fire, the three story structure began to collapse. On October 23, 2000, the town of Plainfield hired a construction company to stabilize the building. In the course of performing this work, the construction company discovered abandoned transformers and exposed asbestos, and immediately ceased operations. The fire had also caused asbestos from the building to be released into the environment. Subsequently, CT DEP and the Town referred the Site to EPA’s Removal Program.
Current Situation
Site mobilized on February 9, 2004 and demolition/asbestos removal began on February 16, 2004. Shaw E&I (EPA ERRS Prime Contractor) subcontracted the effort to Dec-Tam and Dec-Tam. The work is ongoing and the details follow below.
Activities since the last POLREP:
• From February 9 - 13, 2004, OSC Jarrell, ERRS, START, a DecTam crew, and DecTam subcontractor, Costello Dismantling, mobilized to the site to commence removal activities. START collected composite samples to be analyzed for TCLP lead and total lead. The DecTam crew installed silt fence/hay bale erosion control measures as specified in the site plan, removed and bagged transite siding from Buildings A and C, removed glass block windows in Building A, and removed the Building B window frames and bagged the glazing for disposal. The Costello crew installed three sedimentation basins as specified in the site plan, and consolidated the debris piles for load out.
• From February 16 - 20, 2004, START commenced daily perimeter sampling for airborne asbestos and lead. ERRS removed a thermostat containing a mercury switch from Building A, and staged it within Building L pending proper disposal. Costello demolished interior portions of Building B, removed the roof and interior portions of Area E, removed two transformers from the rubble pile between Areas E and F and staged them on polyethylene sheeting adjacent to Building L, segregated steel and asbestos-contaminated debris into separate stockpiles, and began load out activities for disposal. DecTam conducted dust suppression during all demolition and load out activities for the duration of the removal.
• From February 23 - 27, 2004, Costello removed the steel girders blocking the pedestrian bridge; removed the structural steel, pipes, boiler and furnace from Area F; removed structural steel and pipes from Area G; began dismantling the interior walls between Areas E and F; removed rubble from around the penstock, turbine, and generator; and continued ACM load out activities. DecTam continued hand raking Area B, began cleaning the foundation slabs in Areas E and F, removed the equipment and debris from within the well house, removed the shingles from and repaired holes in the well house roof, and removed and bagged asbestos-containing pipe insulation. START continued perimeter sampling for airborne asbestos and lead, and particulate monitoring and photodocumented a leak in the H Wall at the wall dividing Areas F and G. Weston MNH mobilized to the site, marked the elevations where the demolition plans specified that the H Wall be saw cut, inspected site conditions and the leak in the H Wall.
• From March 1 - 5, 2004, Costello demolished the Area A building, the Area C building, and the exterior stone walls of the Area B building; cleared rubble from around the penstock; transferred uncontaminated rubble into Area E; excavated visibly contaminated soil below grade in Area D; removed the mill’s smokestack from the river; mobilized an air compressor to site; and continued ACM load out activities. DecTam finished cleaning the foundation slabs in Areas E and F, began clearing debris in Area G, and raked debris from the ground surface around the footprint of the building. DecTam also reviewed areas of debris and scrap metal along the access road for a removal cost estimate. START collected perimeter samples for airborne asbestos and lead during demolition of the Area A building, and continued particulate monitoring.
• From March 8 - 12, 2004, Costello erected a wooden framework around the portion of the penstock located beneath the H Wall and covered the area with road plate. A boom lift was delivered to site and Costello personnel dismantled the H Wall by hand using a pneumatic hammer and hand tools, after which the road plate and wooden framework were removed. Interior walls between Areas E and F and between Areas F and G were dismantled; the wooden deck, pump equipment and masonry walls were removed from Area J; uncontaminated rubble was transferred from Areas B, F, G, and J to Area E; rubble was removed from the turbine raceway; and non-stone debris was removed from the river embankment. DecTam personnel removed the wooden window frames from Area E; raked debris from the ground surface around the footprint of the building; and cleared debris from within Area A and around the generator. ERRS T&D Coordinator mobilized to the site and collected samples from the transformers for polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) analysis. START conducted one day of perimeter sampling for airborne asbestos and lead, and continued particulate.
• Conduct additional sampling including, but not limited to, conducting soil, water and sediment sampling to further delineate the nature and the extent of contamination on-site and installation of monitoring wells. The sampling results would be used to estimate the volume of waste that needed to be removed or otherwise stabilized/treated.
• Sample, stage, analyze, remove and dispose of drums.
• Segregate, stockpile and dispose of asbestos-contaminated debris to a CERCLA-approved disposal facility.
• Evaluate cleanup methods for the water pit and soil contamination. Data obtained from sampling soil, water and sediment will be used to determine the appropriate removal cleanup methods. The removal methods to be considered include removing (via excavation, treatment and disposal), or otherwise stabilizing the contaminated soils and/or a combination of all of the above. The method selected will eliminate the threat of direct public contact with contaminated soil and will also reduce the potential for off-site migration.
• Conduct building demolition and/or reinforcement and site stabilization/restoration activities in accordance with an engineer-designed plan.
• Perform applicable air monitoring.
∙ Perform applicable environmental sampling and monitoring including soil and/or water testing during the removal.
• Perform a land survey and document the Site conditions with as-built drawings if deemed necessary by the OSC.
• Coordinate with CT DEP, CT DPH, START and ERRS for asbestos removal and demolition plans.
• Continue the removal action.
Some of the masonry wall of the mill building serves as the hydroelectric dam wing wall. Special demolition procedures must be implemented in order to minimize any major vibrations that could cause the masonry below the dam forebay water level to leak.
|
