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.
EPA has completed its excavation of contaminated surface soils on-site and is now restoring and revegetating disturbed areas. Erosion-control matting (coconut-husk fiber) has been deployed on sloped areas to provide additional safeguards against erosion.
EPA and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MADEP) worked together under an OPA Pollution Removal Funding Authorization (PRFA) to address residual oil product and sludge in two 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 tanks and associated piping to access oil and oil-contaminated soils beneath and surrounding the tanks. Heavily oiled soils were excavated and removed from the Site on July 20, 2005 by MADEP’s contractor. In total, MADEP removed approximately 200 tons of oil-contaminated soil and 4,500 gallons of oily water.
EPA completed excavation of metal-and-oil jointly contaminated wetland soils in late July, 2005. In order to facilitate excavation, saturated soils were dewatered and treated for oil and heavy metals using oil/water separation, activated carbon, and ion-exchange resin. Clean water was discharged to the Ten Mile River.
Wetland soils were excavated to a depth of approximately 2 feet. The floors of the excavations were covered by geotextile fabric and backfilled with clean fill materials.
Riverbank soils were also excavated to a depth of approximately 2 feet. The floors of the excavations were covered by geotextile fabric and backfilled with clean fill materials and a final layer of riprap stone and gravel to stabilize the bank.
Two areas of buried drums filled with metal-contaminated oil were excavated and removed from the property. Discarded, partially buried 55-gallon drums and deteriorated wooden kegs filled with cadmium-contaminated oil were removed from the woodland area approximately 10 yards from the Ten Mile River. Another discrete area of shallow-buried drums filled with lead-contaminated oil was discovered to be the cause of an oil seep approximately 20 feet north of the former manufacturing building foundation. This area was excavated and the drums removed.
Transportation of contaminated soils to permitted disposal facilities began in mid-May and was completed on August 19, 2005. As of July 8, approximately 2,500 tons of metal-contaminated soils have been transported off-site to the ARC recycling facility in Eliot, ME, approximately 3,900 tons of metal-and-oil contaminated soils have been transported off-site to the EQ facility in Detroit, MI, and approximately 100 tons of PCB-contaminated soils have been transported to the Turnkey/Waste Management facility in Rochester, NH.
To minimize the impact to the community during this period of heavy truck traffic, EPA, in coordination with the Attleboro Police and Fire Departments, implemented a traffic control plan. The plan included 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.
Removal and disposal of several compressed gas cylinders, batteries, paint cans, aerosol cannisters, and miscellaneous drums and vats is planned for late August or early September.
EPA will continue to restore and revegetate disturbed areas, maintaining appropriate moisture levels until vegetation is established.
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 due to erosion and sediment runoff.
A press conference was held on-site on August 17, 2005. Featured speakers included Robert Varney, EPA New England’s Regional Administrator, City of Attleboro Mayor Kevin Dumas, MADEP Southeast Region Director Gary Moran, and City of Attleboro Health Officer Dr. Christopher Quinn. The event was featured in the 5:00 and 6:00 evening news on Channel 10 – NBC – Providence and New Bedford and in the Thursday, August 18, 2005 issue of The Sun Chronicle.
EPA will leave extensive property documentation with the City and State to help local leaders determine appropriate future uses of the Site. To facilitate the transition to City and State control of the property, EPA will meet with City and State officials on Thursday, September 8, 2005 at 10:00 a.m. in the Mayor’s Conference Room at City Hall.
A community meeting at City Hall has been scheduled for Monday, September 19, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. Members of the community are invited to attend.
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