2018-2019
In the summer of 2018, the Massachusetts Department of
Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and the Town of Dartmouth Board of Health
discovered waste material, including buried drums containing unknown materials,
at a residential property located at 85 McCabe Street. MassDEP issued a field
Notice of Responsibility (NOR) to the property developer. The developer hired a
Licensed Site Professional (LSP) and started conducting response actions.
During this process, MassDEP learned of potential dumping activities in the
Bliss Corner Neighborhood dating back to the 1930s.
During follow on inspections and sampling activities in 2018, MassDEP and the
Town of Dartmouth discovered waste material containing lead and polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs) at three other properties located on Kraseman and McCabe
Streets. In May and June of 2019, MassDEP discovered waste material containing
lead and PCBs in subsurface soil samples collected from Town of Dartmouth
right-of-ways. In July 2019, MassDEP began collecting soil samples from
residential properties within the neighborhood. To date, MassDEP has sampled
approximately 30 properties.
2020-2021
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provided
analytical and sampling support to Mass DEP during their continued residential
sampling activities planned for the Bliss Corner Neighborhood in 2020.
From July 2020 through June 2021, MassDEP and EPA sampled 46 residential
properties in the neighborhood. From this sampling, the main contaminants of
concern identified are lead and polychlorinated biphenyls, better known as
PCBs.
MassDEP
requested EPA support to remove contaminated soil at some of the properties
with the greatest health risk. EPA and
MassDEP selected five residential properties in the Bliss Corner neighborhood
where elevated levels of lead and/or PCBs exceed the MassDEP Imminent Hazard
level in surficial soil and pose a risk to human health and the
environment.
2022 – Present
EPA
began the cleanup and restoration of these five properties. The remediation
activity and the final restoration has been completed. EPA is currently working in the neighborhood
to address any issues and concerns with property restoration. This work should be completed in about three
weeks.
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