This Pollution Report (POLREP) provides an update on the cleanup of contaminated soils at the Apco Mossberg Company, Inc. Superfund Site, located at 100-101 Lamb Street in Attleboro, Massachusetts. The 11-acre property was a former automobile-parts manufacturing facility. The available data indicates that the hazardous materials on-site are linked to former manufacturing activities conducted on the property between 1900 and 1987.
On Tuesday, May 17, 2005, EPA cleanup workers discovered oil contamination (a mix of weathered heavy fuel oil, grease, and motor oil) in metal-contaminated soils approximately 10 yards from the Ten Mile River. Possible sources of the oil include discarded, partially buried 55-gallon drums and deteriorated wooden kegs, observed in the woodland area.
Another discrete area jointly contaminated by oil (a mix of weathered heavy fuel oil, grease, and motor oil) and metals has been discovered approximately 20 feet north of the former manufacturing building foundation. The source of this oil is unknown at this point. One possible source may be one (or both) of two abandoned undergound storage tanks which were formerly located within the northwest corner of the foundation. A soil berm and sorbent booms have been placed around the oil seep to prevent product migration.
A groundwater sample collected from a monitoring well installed by EPA in 2003 near the abandoned oil tanks also revealed No. 2 fuel oil contamination. Based on a groundwater elevation survey conducted by EPA in 2003, groundwater beneath the property has been determined to flow east-northeast, discharging into the Ten Mile River.
Due to the proximity of the oil contamination to the Ten Mile River, a substantial threat of a discharge of oil, into or upon navigable waters of the United States, exists. The Ten Mile River, designated as a "Class B" waterway by MADEP, is designated as a habitat for fish, other aquatic life, and wildlife, and for primary and secondary recreation. The Ten Mile River empties into Dodgeville Pond, then flows as the Ten Mile River to Central Pond, which becomes the James V. Turner Reservoir, then flows as the Ten Mile River to Omega Pond, which empties into the Seekonk River, which flows into the Providence Harbor/River, which flows to Kettle Point, located at Watchmoket Cove in East Providence, Rhode Island.
However, EPA has determined that there is no need for a separate response to the oil pollution in the woodland area under the Oil Pollution Act (OPA). The ongoing cleanup activities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), with respect to the cadmium contamination, will address the oil contamination issue as the oil is co-located with the metal contamination, and sampling results show the oil to be contaminated with heavy metals.
EPA and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MADEP) are working together under an OPA Pollution Removal Funding Authorization (PRFA) to address residual oil product and sludge in the abandoned underground storage tanks on-site, as well as any resulting soil and groundwater contamination that may pose a threat to navigable waters.
During the week of June 27, 2005, MADEP personnel and contractors removed the two abandoned underground oil storage tanks and associated piping to access oil and oil-contaminated soils beneath and surrounding the tanks. Heavily oiled soils were excavated and are currently staged on the foundation pad for subsequent removal and disposal off-site at a permitted facility.
Excavation of metal-and-oil jointly contaminated wetland soils began on July 11, 2005. Workers proceed methodically, dewatering approximately 20 feet by 20 feet grids prior to excavating soils to a depth of 2 feet, and subsequently deploying geotextile fabric and laying down clean fill materials. The excavated soils are staged on plastic tarps on the foundation pad and will ultimately be removed off-site for disposal at a permitted facility. The recovered waters are currently stored in two 10,000 gallon storage tanks on-site. This water is being treated for oil and heavy metals using oil/water separation, activated carbon, and ion-exchange resin prior to discharge to the Ten Mile River.
Transportation of contaminated soils to permitted disposal facilities began in mid-May and continues. As of July 8, 2,468.18 tons of metal-contaminated soils had been transported off-site to the ARC recycling facility in Eliot, ME and 2,546.35 tons of metal-contaminated soils had been transported off-site to the EQ facility in Detroit, MI.
To minimize the impact to the community during this period of heavy truck traffic, EPA, in coordination with the Attleboro Police and Fire Departments, is implementing a traffic control plan. The plan includes the following:
Posting flaggers at intersections near the site when heavy trucks are entering and exiting the work area to ensure the safety of nearby residents and pedestrians, cleanup crew, and passing vehicles.
Limiting weekday heavy truck traffic before 8:00 a.m. and after 2:00 p.m. to avoid school buses and heavy commuter traffic. In addition, trucks will be routed away from the center of town.
Washing truck tires and inspecting vehicles before they leave the site to ensure that contaminated materials are not being tracked beyond the work area.
EPA continues to conduct dust suppression activities to ensure that the cleanup activities do not impact the air quality of nearby residents or pedestrians in the vicinity of the work area. Watering down soils, covering stockpiled wastes with heavy tarps, and decontaminating vehicles and equipment before moving off-site ensures that contaminated soil is not being tracked or spread beyond the work area.
EPA continues to implement the Erosion, Sediment, and Stormwater Control Plan and Dust Control Plan (ESS&D Plan) for the site, to minimize environmental impacts from heavy wind and rainfall events.
EPA will continue to excavate metal-and-oil jointly contaminated soils on the property, transporting contaminated soils and waste materials off-site to permitted disposal facilities. Excavated areas will be backfilled with clean materials and disturbed areas will be revegetated.
Transportation of PCB-contaminated soils off-site to an EPA-approved disposal facility is scheduled for July 27, 2005.
MADEP is coordinating the removal and disposal of oil-contaminated soils excavated during the removal of the two abandoned underground storage tanks.
Further investigation will be conducted to determine the source and extent of the oil-and metal contamination recently discovered approximately 20 feet north of the former manufacturing building foundation.
EPA and MADEP are working together under an OPA Pollution Removal Funding Authorization (PRFA) to address oil contamination (no associated metal contamination detected) resulting from two abandoned underground storage tanks, formerly located within the northwest corner of the building foundation.
EPA, in conjunction with MADEP, and the City of Attleboro continue to implement the community involvement plan for the site. OSC Morash continues to regularly leaflet the neighborhood and disseminate progress reports. OSC Morash also works with the EPA Press Office to publish press releases in the Attleboro Sun Chronicle with updates on cleanup activities.
Action Memorandum Addendum #1 for the site was signed on May 11, 2005, providing a total project ceiling increase of $1,380,000 to address cadmium-contaminated surface soils in former waste chemical storage lagoons in the wooded area northwest of the manufacturing building foundation. A change in scope for the response action was also authorized to remove and dispose of metal wastes in chemical plating vats and other miscellaneous containers, recently discovered during removal activities in April 2005.
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