The Site is approximately 1.8 acres.  It is currently vacant and secured with a chain link fence.  The northern portion of the Site is unpaved and overgrown with dense vegetation.  The southern portion of the Site is predominantly covered with asphalt and portions of concrete floor slabs.  The southern portion of the Site also includes three (3) areas (approximately 1,200 square feet) that are unpaved and covered with gravel.  A limited soil removal performed under the MCP as a Release Abatement Measure (RAM) took place from 2001 to 2002 performed by Maximillian Technologies, Inc., on behalf of the Lawrence Metal Forming Corp., to address the elevated concentrations of PCBs and lead detected in shallow soils.

There are several occupied buildings and institutions located in the vicinity of the Site.  A hotel is located directly across Beech Street, and the Chelsea High School and a community swimming pool directly to north of the Site on Carter Street.  The school’s student and teacher body consists of 1,581 persons.   Beech Street and Carter Street are two of the three major routes walked daily by students and others attending the High School or using the community pool.

The nearest surface water body is the Chelsea River located approximately 1.2 miles to the east.

According to the EPA Region 1 Environmental Justice Screening Tool, the Site exceeds 80% of the national indices for 7 out of 10 parameters and 45,014 people live within one mile radius.

Historically, the Site has been utilized for various commercial and industrial uses since the late

19th century.  Earliest records indicate the Site was first occupied by Chadbourne & Mocre, Inc. and the Bridgeport Coach Lace Company, which used the Site for the production of textiles.  The American Barrel Company (ABC) began operating on the Site in 1938 and utilized the Site for painting and cleaning of barrels and drums for reuse.  The ABC operations continued until May 1974, when a fire destroyed the ABC building.  Following the destruction of the former ABC building, the Site was vacant until 1979. 

In June 1979, the Site was redeveloped by the Superior Distributing Company (Superior).  After purchasing the parcel of land, Superior constructed a large rectangular building in the southern portion of the Site along Beech Street.  Superior occupied the building, which it used as a warehouse, until 1986 when the Site was purchased by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

MIT completed minor modifications to the Superior building before the Lawrence Metals

Forming Company (LMFC) took ownership and began operating on the Site from 1986 until 1999.  The LMFC operations included manufacturing and custom fabrication of various metal products.  The City of Chelsea Economic Development Board under an Urban Renewal Plan acquired the parcel of land (excluding the MassDOT-owned portion of the former Maple Street remnant) through an order of taking in 1999, and in December 2000 demolished the LMFC building (formerly Superior building) leaving only the foundation and floor slab.

The Site is located at 145-155 Beech Street in Chelsea, MA and is identified in the Chelsea Assessor’s Office on Map 55, Lots 17A and 17B and also includes remnants of the former Maple Street to the south (see Figure 1).   It is abutted by Carter Street and Chelsea High School and the Vietnam Veteran’s Pool to the north, U.S. Route 1 to the east and Beech Street and a new hotel development to the west.    

PCBs and lead were detected in soil samples at the Site.  PCBs and lead are hazardous substances as defined by Section 101(14) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9601(14).  The PCB concentrations present at the Site exceed the default cleanup standards considered protective of public health including:  EPA’s PCB Cleanup and Disposal Regulations, 40 CFR Section 761.61, (1 mg/kg for unrestricted use, and 10 to 100 mg/kg with a compliant cap); the preliminary remediation goals (1 mg/kg for residential areas, 10 to 25 mg/kg for industrial use) specified in EPA OSWER Directive 9355.4-01; and the MCP Method 1 default standard of 2 mg/kg for both residential and industrial soils. 

The highest concentrations for both hazardous substances detected are compared to the remediation standards identified in the Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP) as follows: