Parker Street Waste Site

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Parker Street Waste Site: Update on EPA Activities 3/5/2012

*This update serves to provide New Bedford community members and interested parties with details about the work being performed by EPA and MassDEP.

  • Work continues on properties at the Parker Street Waste Site as weather conditions have allowed crews to continue work outside.
    • Contaminated soil located at the Shawmut Avenue staging area continues to be transported via truck to the Waste Management Middleboro Landfill located in Middleboro, MA.
  • To date, 88 properties have been sampled during the preliminary assessment/site investigation to determine the nature and extent of the boundaries of the Parker Street Waste Site.
    • 46 properties were determined to have site-related contamination at elevated levels that posed a significant contact threat/risk and warranted surface soil removal activities.
      • EPA completed soil removal and property restoration on 40 properties, except for final revegetation.
      • Removal activities are currently in progress at 4 properties on site.
      • Contaminated surface soils at 2 properties were addressed by responsible parties who performed the cleanups under EPA oversight.
    • EPA will not be conducting removal activities at 42 properties because sample data indicated that elevated levels of site-related contamination were not present on those properties.
  • To date, approximately $5.1 million had been spent by the EPA on removal activities at the Parker Street Waste Site.
  • EPA plans to hold a public meeting on the work at the Parker Street Waste Site prior to finalizing cleanup activities, another update will follow with meeting information. This meeting is tentatively scheduled for this spring.

Parker Street Waste Site: Update on EPA Activities 1/13/2012

*This update serves to provide New Bedford community members and interested parties with details about the work being performed by EPA and MassDEP.

  • Work continues on properties at the Parker Street Waste Site. Work is anticipated to take place through this month until the end of the construction season, which is typically marked by the first deep freeze.
  • During the week of December 5, 2011 excavation and backfilling operations were initiated on one additional property due to site-related contamination shown in sidewall samples taken from an adjacent property.
    • Sidewall samples are taken on every property after excavation operations to determine whether potential contamination extends onto adjacent properties. If elevated levels of contamination are found and are believed to be site-related, as in this case, excavation and backfill operations are initiated on the adjacent property.
  • Contaminated soil from the Shawmut Avenue staging area is being transported via truck to the Waste Management Middleboro Landfill in Middleboro, MA for disposal.
  • Construction of an asphalt cap on a portion of a City-owned right-of-way along Parker Street was completed the week of December 14th.
  • Soil excavation work, as well as restoration activities, was completed on the Westlawn Development Property on 11/9/2011.
  • EPA will hold a public meeting sometime after the end of the construction season to update the community about the work that has been completed and to answer questions.

Parker Street Waste Site: Update on EPA Activities 10/28/2011

*This update serves to provide New Bedford community members and interested parties with details about the work being performed by EPA and MassDEP.

  • Work continues on properties at the Parker Street Waste Site. Work is anticipated to take place through the end of the construction season, typically marked near the first freeze.
  • EPA contractors are continuing to perform excavation, backfilling, landscaping, and paving activities.
    • To date, soil removal activities at 22 properties have been completed or are in progress. Soil removal activities are planned for approximately 15 additional properties.
    • Load out of contaminated soil was conducted on two properties the week of October 17th.
  • Boys and Girls Club property – soil removal work began the week of October 17th on an area of the Boys and Girls Club property on Jenney Street.
  • Work continues at the Westlawn Development Property.
    • The specific removal activities required for each property within the Parker Street Waste Site are based on property-specific conditions. By removing surface soils in multiple locations at Westlawn, exposure pathways that could affect Westlawn tenants will be eliminated.
    • Soil excavation and backfilling activities at Westlawn began the week of October 10th.
    • Activities at Westlawn are expected to be completed by early November.
  • During the week of October 24th, EPA plans to sample two additional properties located at the southeastern corner of the Site.
  • EPA plans to hold a public meeting at the end of the construction season to update the community about the work that has been completed and to answer questions.

For more information or questions, please contact:

Jim Murphy, EPA
Community Involvement Coordinator
617-918-1028

Kelsey O'Neil, EPA
Community Involvement Coordinator
617-918-1799

Fall 2012 Community Update (pdf) (1.3 MB)

Spring 2011 Community Update on the Parker Street Waste Site (pdf) (2.7 MB)

February 2010 Community Update on the Parker Street Waste Site (pdf) (443 KB)

Chart: Parker Street Guide to Soil Sampling Results
Guide to Parker Street Soil Sampling Results (pdf) (404 KB)
Example of Individual Property Sampling Results for Parker Street Waste Site
Example of Individual Property Sampling Results (pdf) (255 KB)

EPA's Past Involvement at McCoy Field & Keith Middle School

EPA Approves New Bedford McCoy Field PCB Clean Up Plan
Updated August 30, 2005

EPA has approved a plan developed by the City of New Bedford to clean up, cap and dispose of PCB contamination at the McCoy Field site in New Bedford. EPA's approval follows several months of careful science-based analysis, as well as a thorough evaluation of comments submitted by the public between June 14 and July 29.

EPA's approval imposes a substantial number of conditions designed to ensure that the site can be used as a school without risk from PCBs.

EPA's evaluation of the City's plan focused on ensuring that an effective clean up remedy for the site is in place that will be protective of human health and the environment. EPA's review also concludes that the plan is consistent with the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and federal PCB regulations.

To address public concerns raised during public meetings and in comments submitted to the Agency, the approval also requires that the City of New Bedford develop and submit detailed plans for a long-term monitoring and maintenance program to evaluate the caps, groundwater and sediment, vent gas and indoor air.

Further, the City is required to develop plans to ensure continued public communication regarding its efforts, and to train on-site workers (such as landscapers) on the physical controls put in place to prevent disturbance of contaminated materials.

Background

New Bedford conducted a human health risk assessment of McCoy Field, based on the City's intention to build a new public school on the site. In performing the assessment, the City evaluated a number of activities that could result in exposure to students, visitors, school and municipal employees, and for construction and utility workers as part of the scenarios.

While EPA did not play a decision-making role in the selection of the site for the new Keith Middle School, EPA believes that the City's plan is acceptable and there will be no unreasonable risk to public health or the environment when the cleanup and subsequent monitoring and maintenance are conducted in accordance with the terms and conditions in the approval.

EPA's approval of the City of New Bedford's clean up plan is only for the McCoy Field site. The approval does not address contamination to adjacent wetlands, private properties, or at the existing high school. The City of New Bedford has submitted a plan to EPA describing the City's proposal to address PCB contamination of wetlands near McCoy Field which EPA is currently reviewing.

McCoy Field Clean Up Plan

The McCoy Field cleanup plan submitted by New Bedford, and approved by EPA, includes:

  • Removal of PCBs of greater than or equal to 100 parts per million within the excavation areas;
  • Installation of a surface cover outside the building footprint: for landscaped areas there will be a geotextile liner and a 3-foot clean soil cap; for parking areas the surface cover will be a geotextile liner and a 2-foot clean cap with an asphalt cover;
  • Construction of the school building on pile caps/grade beams above ground surface;
  • Installation of a passive vapor collection system and solid vapor barrier beneath the building footprint;
  • Establishment of a long-term monitoring and maintenance plan for the surface covers and indoor and groundwater monitoring;
  • Development of a communications plan as part of the long-term monitoring and maintenance implementation plan.

Useful Links

Past Public Meeting

PSWS Community Meeting
Representatives from EPA, MassDEP, ATSDR, and the City of New Bedford discussed the PSWS completed work and project status.

Date: December 4, 2012
Location: New Bedford Main Library, 613 Pleasant Street, Meeting Room
Time: 6-8 pm

Fall 2012 Community Update (pdf) (1.3 MB)

Depósito de desechos de Parker Street Actualización para la comunidad, Otoño 2012 (pdf) (3.3 MB)

Aterro para Resíduos Parker Street Actualização da Comunidade, Outono de 2012 (pdf) (2.7 MB)

Progress at Parker Street

Thumbnail for Progress at Parker Street Video
March 2012 video of EPA's most recent cleanup work at the Parker Street Waste Site
Thumbnail for Progress at Parker Street Video
February 2011 video of EPA's cleanup work at the Parker Street Waste Site.

Transcripts:
Portuguese (pdf) (476 KB)
Spanish (pdf) (33 KB)

More information

Meeting Notes

Your Community Involvement Coordinator

EPA Community Involvement Coordinator
Kelsey Dumville (dumville.kelsey@epa.gov)
617-918-1003
Toll Free 1-888-372-7341 ext.8-1003

Mailing List

To recieve e-mail updates about the Parker Street Waste Site Kelsey Dumville (dumville.kelsey@epa.gov)

Wetland PCB Remediation Cleanup Proposal

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Last updated on June 10, 2024