Pollution Report Profile - EPA OSC Response

Baldwinville Residential Properties
Baldwinville, MA - EPA Region I
POLREP #2 - POLREP #2, Update

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On-Scene Coordinator - Michael Barry	11/23/2004
Time-Critical - Removal Action	Pollution Report (POLREP) #2
Start Date: 8/16/2004

Site Description
The Site, located at Holman Street, near the village of Baldwinville in the town of Templeton, Worcester County, north 42 36' 54” latitude, west 72 04' 33” longitude, encompasses a neighborhood of approximately 55 residential properties. The site area is about 1/2 mile north of the village center and consists of about 80 acres total along Winchester, Holman, Harris, Elm and Bridge Streets and Winchendon Road.

This was discovered when soil sampling for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s) at the adjacent Temple-Stuart removal site advanced to its property line without PCB concentrations declining below acceptable Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MADEP) regulatory concentrations for residential areas. Subsequent sampling of the residential properties in 2003 confirmed PCB concentrations above MADEP levels at 28 properties. An additional 24 properties are slated for sampling in an additional phase.

For additional background information, please see the Action Memorandum

Current Activities
Since POLREP No. 1, the following work has been completed:

$ Excavation has been completed at 17 of the 28 properties, or about 75% of the projected soil volume in phase 1

$ Loam backfill has been completed on 13 properties and 12 have been hydro-seeded.

$ ERRS subcontracted with Mill City Environmental of Lowell MA for T&D of PCB contaminated soil. 3250 tons of PCB contaminated soil has been shipped to date to ESMI’s thermal desporbtion facility in Loudon for processing; final disposition will be as daily landfill cover. The soil was shipped as non-TSCA non-hazardous waste as PCB concentration averages 15-20 ppm.

$ The phase 2 SI on an additional 26 properties was completed on 11/2/2004. It encompassed approximately 1000 20’x20’ grids on the properties. Access was not granted by the owners of two properties it was sought from

$ Excavated soils are being screened for total lead with X-ray florescence instruments to ensure total lead limits are met at the disposal facility. Soils segregated for lead >100 ppm are tested by TCLP to ensure they meet non-hazardous criteria; all TCLP samples have met non-hazardous criteria to date.

$ The new Shimatzu field GC with an automatic injector has functioned very well. Approximately 1800 samples have been run to date and good split correlation to two fixed labs has been observed. It ran up to about 150 samples in a 24 hour period when excavation and SI were both underway.

$ ERRS awarded two tree removal sub-contracts to a local tree service (George of the Jungle Tree Service, Inc.) to remove interfering trees that were a potential safety and liability hazard to remove

$ Excavation work has shifted from the Holman/Harris/Bridge/Winchester street neighborhood to Elm Street, which is also US Route 202 and carries steady traffic through the village center.

$ In addition to the security sub-contractor, ERRS has contracted for Town police traffic details for work along Elm St. /US Route 202.

Planned Removal Actions
• Remove interference such as trees, outbuildings, yard ornaments, etc.

• Excavate surface soil as necessary to remove all grids containing PCB’s greater than 10 ppm and as necessary to achieve a yard-wide average of less than 2.0 ppm.

• Stage, transport and dispose of contaminated soil at a permitted facility.

• Backfill with clean sand to within 6” of surface, then with good quality, clean loam to grade and then hydro-seed the yards.

• Stabilize the yards for the winter as required.

• Restore yard vegetation; shrubbery, trees, etc as far as possible.

• Use automated data systems as far as possible to support the project; including SCRIBE, Arcview GIS; etc.

Next Steps
• Finish digging yards along Elm Street, then move back to Winchester Street; finish as many as possible prior to demobilization; currently scheduled for the end of December.

• Finish backfilling with loam as long as present supplies last; coat these yards with a hay/straw mix.

• Backfill all yards dug with sand.
• Cover all yards with geotextile fabric or other covering for the winter.

• Complete T&D of all excavated soil in January 2005.

• Develop dig plans for Phase 2 SI yards over the winter.

• Complete project in spring 2005.

• Assess requirement for any further sampling per phase 2 SI results.

Key Issues
• Late arrival of loam resulted in lost time for some yards lawns to get started this fall and hurt relations with the community in September and October.

• Use of a modern, auto-injector capable field GC was key to obtaining quick, accurate sample results and supported the digging rate. Use of SCRIBE instrumental in handling large amount of project data.

Disposition Of Wastes

Waste Stream	Quantity	Manifest #	Disposal Facility
PCB contaminated soil, (non-TSCA, non-hazardous, < 50 ppm PCB's)	16,000 tons (proj. max)	n/a	Mill City Environmental, Lowell, MA (broker) to ESMI thermal deporbtion facility in Loudon, NH
PCB contaminated soil (> 50 ppm PCB's)	180 tons, (approx proj. max.)	n/a	TBD
PCB contaminated roots and other yard debris.	350 tons, (approx proj.)	n/a	TBD