On May 4, 2017, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) requested EPA’s assistance in evaluating whether current site conditions, including the potential release of hazardous substances stored in 55-gallon drums and 275-gallon totes, located in an unsecured trailer box container at the Summer Street (#250) [Site] would warrant a time-critical removal action. EPA made several attempts to contact the property owner through phone calls and certified mail to obtain written consent for access to the property in order to perform an EPA removal program preliminary assessment/site investigation (PA/SI) to determine whether a time-critical removal action is warranted. Due to the lack of response from the property owner, an EPA civil investigator hand delivered EPA’s request for access and access to property consent form to the owner for his signature, which was obtained on July 19, 2017. On August 24, 2017, EPA, NHDES, and EPA’s Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team (START) contractor arrived at the Site to perform the PA/SI sampling activities. Fifteen samples were collected from thirteen 55-gallon drums and two 275-gallon totes for laboratory analysis. Analytical results for the samples collected during the PA/SI indicate the presence of various volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), heavy metals, and ignitable substances in materials stored in the 55-gallon drums and totes. Based upon the PA/SI sampling results and the potential for release of hazardous substances, the PA/SI was concluded and a time-critical removal action was recommended in the Site Investigation Closure Memorandum dated January 23, 2018.
