UI>IITED STATES t:NVIRON MENTAL PROT ECT ION AGE " CY

W AS H ING TON , O.C. 20460 ,--+--r-::"'-::"....,

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MEMORANDUM Wt.:.sre RESPONSe Ao COMPUANC£ BRA: l.:tt

SUBJECT: Authorization to Proceed with Remed i al Planning Activities at Fi ve S i tes in the Commonwealth of Massachuset~~~~~IOt_ ~EHORANDU~

wt~M'f3demaQ/ if:! Director:FROM: · Office of Emergency and Remedial Response

TO : Lee H. Thomas, Assistant Admin i strator f o r Soli d Waste. a nd Emergenc y Response

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The purpose of this memorandum is to request authoriz.!!otion to undertake remedial planning activities at five sites located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. All five sites are on the proposed National Priorities List. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts haa requested that the EPA take t he lead on the remedial planning activities at tho following sites:

Baird ' McGuire, Inc. Holbrook, MA Groveland Wells fl and t2, Groveland, MA Hocomoco Pond, westboro, M.A Cannon Engineering Corporation, Plymouth, MA Cannon Eng ineering Corporation, Bridgewater, MA

BACKGROUNll

A Remedi a l Act ion Master Pla n (RAMP ) has bee n pre pared fo r each site. The e xe c utive summary o f e ach RMtP i s attac hed prov id i ng detailed i nfo rma tio n on the site . The follow i ng are brie f descripti ons o f the five si t e s:

Baird ' McGui r e , Holbr ook

Bai1·d and McGuire , Inc ., is a chemical mixi ng compa ny loc ated in the town of Holbrook , Massachusetts . The company . began operation in 1912 and produce s disinfectants , soap , floo r wa x, a nd pesticides . Chemicals are mixed in vats a nd in the pas t, the wash water t hat was used to clean these vats was Csischarged i nto t wo un lined lagoons locat ed on the p r operty .

v About 100,000 gallons of hazardous wastes are s tored in several tanks , a lagoon , and a cesspool. Chlordane was detected i n s ampl es of ground water taken by the Massachusetts Department o f ·Environmental Quality Engineering {DEOE) i n Fe bur a r y 19~2.

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The town , concerne d wi th the proximity of surface water pathways to the wster supply systems of Brain~ree, Randolph, and Holbrook, has asked the U.S . Environmental Protection· 1\gency for assistance. These water supply systems serve over 75,000 people.

Region I has sent notice letters to the owi1er/operator. After a conference with the owner/operator, 1t was determined that the company would not be able to undertake the necessary work.

Groveland Wells U and t2, Groveland

The Groveland production wells tl and 12 are the main source of potable water for the inhabitants of Groveland, Massachusetts. In 1979, both wells were shut down due to chemical contamination , which was documented by analysis made by the Massachusetts DEOE . The t own ide ntified three main sources of contaminat i on a nd filed enforcemen t c l aims agai ns t t he three companies i nvolved . One s ettl ed with the tolo' n , by agreei ng to conduc t a s tudy to de t e rmine t he e xtent of the i r s o urce o f contami na t i on . The o t he r two de f e nda nts have no t comple t ed any s ettlement wl t h the

. t own.

, With t he produc ti on ~Je lls shut dolo'n, the town rec ei ved funds from the Departme nt o f Housi ng a nd Urba n Development in 1979 to install a th i rd well. In additi on, the town rec eived water fr om the adj acent communities o f Ha verhill a nd Georgetown . The purchase of water from the ne ighboring communi t i e s i s cons i dered a t emporary mea s ure . Engi neeri ng s t udies .have r econ..nende d ae r a ti ng· water o r using ac t i va t ed carbon in connection lo'ith pr oduc tion wells 11 and t2. These studies will be evaluated lo'ith o t her .op t ions in the feasib il ity study.

Hocomoco Pond , Westborough

The site is on the shore of Hocomoco Pond , in Westboro, Massachusetts. The pond is used for recreation . The site is presently owned by Smith Valve Corporation, a c ompany that manUfactures steel valves. From 1928 until 1946, a tract of land on the south side ot the pond lo'as the site of a wood-treating op!ration. Wastes were disc harged to an unlined lagoon south of thl operation and possibly to che pond and to a low-land east of the lagoon. Smith Valve Parkway runs in a northeasterly direction, passing south at the lagoon. In 1916, storm se~Jers were installed to drain the roadway. During pe,iods of warm weather and high water table, a creosote-like material enters the sewer pipes through joints and discharges to the poncL

Cannon Engineering Corporation, (CEC) Plymouth Harbor

The Cannon Engineering Corporation site is located in an industrial park near Plymouth Harbor in Massachusetts. Tqe half-acra site consists of two above-ground 250,000 gallon tanks

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and o ne 500,000 gallon tank c on taining mixed solvents and .oily wastes. These tanks are about 20 yards from the shores of the Harbor . Several seams have leaked , resulting in contamination of soils around the tanks. Ground water contamination has not been determined due to the ~ack of available wells and numerous other potential sources of contamination. Officials of the industri~l park have complained about odors .

Major concerns center around the possible rupture of the tanks resulting in both ~round wate~ and surface water contami­nation. In addition, the fire marshall has certif.ied that the site poses a fire and exPlosion hazard. At present, Region I and the Office of Waste rrograms Enforcement are presently involved in negotiations for the removal of the above ground tanks with the ai te owner.

Cannon Engineering Corporation , (CECl Bridgewater

The Cannon Engineering Corpo.:ation's Bridgeport, Massachusetts, facility is a two-ac re site located on First Street. The s ite was used for the storag e= and incineration of wastes. On -s ite structures include four process buildin<;Js, an office/warehouse, and a thermal oxidizer. Hazardou s wastes are contained in tanks (total capacity 516 ,4 00 gallons) and approximately 650 ~ruMs.

0 The owners of Cannon En<J i neering have been found guilty of ille<;Jal storage and d isposal of hazardous wastes, and they are currently servin<J jail sentences. The company has been placed in receivership, but the receiver has not been able to finance the continued operation of th4t f&'=ility.

Gr o und water south of the site is contaminated with benzene, 1,1, 1 trichloroethane, a nd toluene; however, no drinking water wells apparentl y are being contaminated at this time. Surface water re leases have bee n observed in a pond to the south and i n a · swamp to the west of the sit~. The soils are also highly contaminated .

ENFORCEMENT

see Attachmer. t

PROPOSED PROJECT

The RAMP ' s which have been prepared for each site outline an approach to be taken for the comprehensive remedial investiga­tions. The RAMP's address the timitations of the existing data and provide an approach to collect the necessary data during a remedial investigation. The detailed site investigations will follow the recommendations in the RAMP's. u The remedial investigations and feasibility studies will be overlapped as much as possible to reduce the overall schedules at the sites. Once the information is collected during the remedial investi<;Jation phase, a feasibility study will be conducted to

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screen, review, anc3 evaluate remedial alternatives. The feasibility anaJysis of alternatives will consider both cost and non-cost criteria. At the completion of the feasibility study , input from the affected community will be sought on selection of the remedies.

PROJECT COSTS AND SCHEDULEs'

COST ( $K)

TOTALSite !!. ll Baird ' McGuire 325 115 440

Groveland Wells 350 150 500

Hocomoco Pond 300 100 400

Cannon Eng . /Plymouth 120 50 110

Cannon En~ ./Bridgewater 300 100 400

The projects are scheduled to be completed within 10 to 15 months of start date.

0 RECOMMENDATION

I recommend the authorization to proceed with funding for the above remedial planning activities at the five sites in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,

I am available to discuss this request in more detail at your convenience.

APPROVAL

DISAPPROVE.____________

DATE; --~7{-./l..z.J..I-fh....l.:.J::_____ - I I

0 ENFORCEMENT STATUS

The Office of Waste Programs Enforcement has released the sites for Remedial Investi~ation/Feasibility Study. The Feasibility Studies will be coordinated with enforcement actions and negotiations with responsible parties will be conducted at the completion of the studies .

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