The 31 Water Street Site property is located at 31 Water Street in Amesbury, Essex County, Massachusetts. The geographic coordinates of the approximate midpoint along the center of 31 Water Street are 42° 51′ 22.1″ north and 70° 55′ 38.5″ west. The property is bordered to the north by Water Street, to the west by the City of Amesbury Public Works Department building, to the east by the Back River, and to the south by the Powwow River. It is also defined on the Amesbury Assessors’ Map 53, Lot 103.
The Site was referred to the Removal Program by the Mass DEP Brownfields Coordinator for the North East Regional Office in November of 2013. Elevated levels of PCBs had been identified by an LSP working for the City of Amesbury
On May 19, 2014, the EPA OSC and contractor personnel mobilized to the property to initiate a Preliminary Assessment/Site Investigation (PA/SI). After visual inspection of the Site and sample location selection by the OSC, a total of thirty-eight soil samples were collected from nine soil boring locations. In addition, six surface soil samples were collected from soils adjacent to waste pipes associated with the Site. The samples were analyzed at the EPA New England Regional Laboratory in Chelmsford, MA for PCBs and metals.
Analytical results indicated that one PCB (Aroclor-1254) was detected in several surface and subsurface soil samples at levels exceeding the MCP Imminent Hazard Level for PCBs of 10 mg/Kg and the EPA Regional Removal Management Levels (RMLs). Also, five metals (arsenic, barium, chromium, lead, and zinc) were detected at concentrations exceeding MCP S-1 standards in one or more of the samples. The lead and arsenic levels also exceeded the EPA RMLs.
Hazardous Substances or Maximum
Pollutants or Contaminants Concentration Media
- Aroclor-1254 (740 mg/Kg) soil
- arsenic (150ppm) soil
- barium (2,300ppm) soil
- chromium (650 ppm) soil
- lead (1900ppm) soil
- zinc (3,300 ppm) soil
A Closure Memorandum to recommend a removal action was signed on July 21, 2014 based on the elevated levels of hazardous substances described above.
On July 30, 2014, an Action Memorandum was signed to commit funds toward excavation and disposal of the contaminated soils at the Site.
