$13 Million Settlement to Cleanup Asbestos, Metals and Toxins at Mass. Superfund Site

July 28, 2010

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Justice Department announced today that they reached a $13 million settlement with four parties to clean up the contaminated Blackburn and Union Privileges Superfund Site in Walpole, Mass.

Once known as The Blackburn Privilege and The Union Factory Privilege, the site covers approximately 30 acres, most of which is residential, and has been in use since the 1600’s. In the 17^th and 18^th centuries, various industrial and commercial operations used hazardous substances such as chromium, arsenic and mercury. From 1915 to 1937, the crushing of raw asbestos and manufacturing of asbestos brake linings took place and later various cotton and fabric production processes used caustic solutions.

These operations caused the contamination of soils, sediment and groundwater at the site with inorganic chemicals, including asbestos, lead, arsenic and nickel, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs). Ingesting or coming into direct contact with contaminated soils, sediments, or groundwater poses a health risk.

According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a pile of asbestos waste remained uncovered at the site until 1986, when the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) received a complaint that asbestos was present on the site. Testing has found asbestos in surface waters and sediments sampled downstream of the site and in groundwater sampled from on-site and off-site monitoring wells. The mechanism for asbestos migration from the site is unknown.

Municipal wells located within 4 miles of the site draw water from the School Meadow Brook/Mine Brook aquifer and supply drinking water to approximately 19,500 people of the Town of Walpole. The nearest well is located within 1 mile of the site. The site lies within the boundaries of the Neponset River drainage basin, which bounds the southern portion of the site.

While some limited cleanup measures took place in the early 1990’s, the site has been on the National Priorities List in 1994.

The parties involved in the settlement include former owners and operators W.R. Grace & Co.-Conn. and Tyco Healthcare Group; and current owners BIM Investment Corp. and Shaffer Realty Nominee Trust.

Under the settlement, the four parties will, among other things:

• · Excavate and dredge contaminated soil and sediment;
• · Treat contaminated groundwater that poses a risk to surface waters;
• · Establish land use restrictions for the site; and
• · Perform long-term monitoring of soils, sediment and groundwater.
• · Maintain a cap and culvert, and perform engineering studies needed to ensure the long-term integrity of the structures

“EPA is pleased that, if approved, this settlement will re-enforce the ‘polluter pays’ principle that is central to the Superfund program by obtaining a commitment for millions of dollars in cleanup work from the responsible parties at this Site,” said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office.