The Birch Swamp Road Site (the Site) is located in Warren, Rhode Island, off of an unnamed, unpaved access road that runs east-to-west, intersecting Birch Swamp Road to the west.
The Site consists of approximately one acre of undeveloped portions of two adjacent parcels of property, each under different ownership. The majority of the Site exists on approximately 0.75 acres of open field (partially enclosed by a former building foundation), consisting primarily of tall grasses with some bushes or other small vegetation, within a 15.8 acre property identified as Lot 4 on the Town of Warren Tax Assessor's Map 22. The Site also extends onto about 0.25 acres of an adjacent wooded property identified on Map 22 as Lot 175.
The Site was first identified by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) in the 1980s as an unlicensed junkyard. At that time, RIDEM personnel observed miscellaneous electronic equipment on-site, including electrical transformers that likely contained oils contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Local officials interviewed by EPA recalled the presence of military equipment at the Site, including old airplane fuselages and other equipment that may have also contained PCBs.
In March 2006 RIDEM requested EPA's assistance in investigating the Birch Swamp Road Site. RIDEM had conducted sediment sampling in the Kickemuit River that revealed elevated levels of PCBs and lead, and had identified the Site as a potential source of the contamination.
EPA conducted environmental investigations at the Site in July 2007, April and August 2008. Sampling results indicated elevated levels of heavy metals (including lead) and PCBs to be present in the top 6 inches of soils at the Site, exceeding RIDEM's residential cleanup criteria. Two discrete areas showed contamination extending down to 2 feet below ground surface (bgs).
EPA mobilized to the Site on Tuesday, August 5th 2008 to conduct a site walk with the Emergency and Rapid Response Services (ERRS) Response Manager. Additional soil and sediment samples were collected and submitted to EPA's Chelmsford, MA laboratory for analysis. The results of the analysis indicate an additional area of lead-contaminated soils to be present east of the foundation, within Lot 4, approximately 50 x 50 feet in extent.
A magnetometer survey of the Site is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, August 18th and 19th 2008. The purpose of this survey will be to determine whether any buried contaminated equipment is present that is contributing or may contribute in the future to the surface soil contamination and should be removed in conjunction with the contaminated soils.
Site preparation activities, including installation of fencing, warning signs, and erosion controls, and clearing and work zone set-up, is scheduled for the week of Monday, August 25th 2008.
The cleanup is expected to take approximately three months to complete.
The following activities will also be undertaken as part of the cleanup action:
- Personal and perimeter air monitoring;
- Excavation of surface soils and debris contaminated with hazardous substances, including, but not limited to, metals and PCBs. All contaminated surface soils identified during the previous investigations will be removed, followed by sampling to confirm that cleanup levels have been achieved. In the event that additional contamination is detected, soils will be excavated to a maximum of approximately three feet bgs;
- Backfilling of excavations with clean fill materials;
- Removal of contaminated materials for off-site disposal at EPA-approved disposal facilities; and
- Repairs to areas disturbed by site activities, for example, by applying topsoil, re-seeding, and plantings.
EPA met with Town of Warren officials on Tuesday, August 5th to discuss the cleanup activities. Site safety measures developed jointly with the Town Manager’s Office, Warren Fire and Police Departments and RIDEM will include access restrictions and warning signs, and traffic control measures, including limitations on trucks transporting equipment and materials to and from the Site to avoid morning and evening commuter traffic. There will be designated equipment and vehicle cleaning areas, and all cleanup workers will be wearing personal protective gear, including white plastic coveralls, gloves, and boots. This level of protection is mandated by federal laws.
As part of the community outreach component of the project, EPA will be issuing a press release for the Site this week and RIDEM will provide written notice to property abutters of the upcoming cleanup action. EPA's Administrative Record File, containing the documents forming the basis of the cleanup action, will be made available to the public at the local library. Progress reports will also be circulated regularly via the EPA website.
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