SUPERFUND
Cleaning Up New England
SITE UPDATE
Blackburn & Union Privileges Site Walpole, MA
U.S. EPA | HAZARDOUS WASTE PROGRAM AT EPA NEW ENGLAND
THE SUPERFUND PROGRAM protects human health
and the environment by investigating and cleaning up often-abandoned
hazardous waste sites and engaging communities throughout the process.
Many of these sites are complex and need long-term cleanup actions.
Those responsible for contamination are held liable for cleanup costs.
EPA strives to return previously contaminated land and groundwater
to productive use.
SITE DESCRIPTION:
The Blackburn & Union Privileges site located in Walpole, MA was added to the Superfund National Priority
List in 1994 and includes industrial properties and undeveloped or residential properties and other areas where
contamination has come to be located. Industrial and commercial processes on the site date back to the 1600s.
Between 1891 and 1915, the site was used for manufacture of tires, rubber goods, and insulating materials. The
crushing of raw asbestos in the manufacture of brake and clutch linings occurred at the site between 1915 and
1937. Various cotton and fabric production processes were conducted at the site from 1937 until 1985. As a
result of these industrial operations, soil, sediment and groundwater are contaminated with inorganic chemi-
cals (including asbestos and metals), volatile organic compounds, pol/cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and highly
alkaline compounds.
RECENT ACTIVITIES:
A $13 million legal settlement to clean up the site
was reached between four parties and the United
States in December 2010. The parties involved in the
settlement include W.R. Grace & Co.-Conn., a former
owner and operator of the site; Tyco Healthcare
Group, also former owner and operator; as well as
BIM Investment Corp. and Shaffer Realty Nominee
Trust, the current owners. Under the settlement, the
four parties will, among other things:
• Excavate and dredge contaminated soil and
sediment East & West of South Street, in
the Former Mill Tailrace, along the Neponset
River, and within Lewis Pond;
• Treat contaminated groundwater that poses a
risk to surface waters;
• Establish land use restrictions for the site; and
• Perform long-term monitoring of soil, sedi-
ment and groundwater.
Under the agreement, the private parties are
required to maintain the site's existing cap and
culvert, and perform engineering studies needed to
ensure the long-term integrity of the structures.
SUPERVISION
Although these responsible parties will be
performing the cleanup, EPA and MassDEP will
be actively supervising all aspects of the cleanup
to ensure the work complies with environmental
regulations and adheres to the cleanup plan.
NEXT STEPS:
Now that the final cleanup plan has been selected,
engineering design work needs to be done before the
cleanup is started. Additional information is often
I Protect!
March 2011
KEY CONTACTS:
DAVE LEDERER
U.S. EPA Remedial
Project Manager
(617) 918-1325
lederer.dave@epa.gov
STACY GREENDLINGER
U.S. EPA Community
Involvement Coordinator
(617) 918-1403
greendlinger.stacy@epa.gov
ROBERT CAMPBELL
Project Manager
MA Dept. of Environmental
Protection
(617) 292-5732
Robert.g.cam pbell@state. ma.us
GENERAL INFO:
EPA NEW ENGLAND
5 Post Office Sq.,
Suite 100
Boston, MA 02109-3912
TOLL-FREE
CUSTOMER SERVICE
1-888-EPA-7341
LEARN MORE AT:
www.epa.gov/region1/
superfund/sites/blackburn
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SDMS DocID 481878
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ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVITIES
1985 Environmental investigations initiated.
1988 EPA issued 1st Administrative Order for Removal Action to Shaffer Realty Nominee Trust and BIM Investment Trust to assess
extent of contamination, prepare a report of assessment and proposed response plan.
1992 EPA issued 2nd Administrative Order for Removal Action to Shaffer Realty Nominee Trust, BIM Investment Trust, and W.R. Grace
& Co.-Conn. to excavate asbestos-contaminated soil, consolidate and cover soil with 30 inches of clean soil and fence-in the covered
area. This covered area is referred to as the Area of Containment (AOC). Grace also redirected the Neponset River with 400-foot
long aluminum plate arch culvert to run through the AOC.
1994 Site was added to the National Priorities List of the Superfund Program.
1999 An Administrative Order on Consent was reached with the potentially responsible parties to perform the Remedial Investigation/
Feasibility Study. A recovery of past costs agreement was reached with W.R. Grace and Tyco.
2000-05 Preliminary Remedial Investigation work was completed.
2006 & 2007 Additional asbestos risk sampling and assessment was performed. Additional groundwater and soil samples were analyzed. Remedial
Investigation was completed. Feasibility Study of cleanup alternatives was developed.
2008 The long-term cleanup plan, formalized in a Record of Decision, was issued in September.
June 2009 EPA began a short-term cleanup removing asbestos and hazardous substances in drums and containers from the former mill building.
Effort concludes in October with nearly 30 tons of asbestos and asbestos containing debris, as well as over 2,700 pounds of hazard-
ous materials and waste oils removed.
2010 A $13 million legal settlement was entered on December 21 requiring the four responsible parties to conduct the site cleanup.
NEXT STEPS: (cont.)
sought to better inform the designs. Various sampling efforts and evalu-
ations will be undertaken in 2011 and 2012 to ensure refined, detailed
designs.
Activities will include:
• On-site contaminated soil sampling to refine volume estimates
for off-site disposal;
• Groundwater extraction and treatment systems engineering
studies;
• Sampling in Lewis Pond and the tailrace area on-site to refine
sediment dredging volumes;
• Sediment excavation and dewatering techniques evaluation;
• Existing culvert engineering analysis to ensure its integrity in
flooding; and
• Sampling in Neponset River downstream of Lewis Pond to
evaluate potential for contaminant transport beyond the West
Street Dam.
Once these studies have been completed, the first in a series of design
submissions will be developed by engineers for EPA's review and approval.
It is anticipated that the first design deliverable will be prepared by early
2012. The design process is likely to take approximately two years in
total, before bidding and cleanup can begin.
Two components of the cleanup plan, the long-term monitoring of
groundwater and surface water and the preparation of land-use restric-
tions for areas of the site, will begin in 2011.
THE CLEANUP PLAN
The long-term cleanup plan for the site was selected in
September 2008 and calls for:
1. Excavation and dredging with off-site disposal of con-
taminated soil and sediment West of South Street, East
of South Street, in the Former Mill Tailrace, along the
Neponset River, and within Lewis Pond;
2. Extraction and treatment of contaminated groundwa-
ter posing a risk to surface waters and discharge of
treated groundwater to the Former Mill Tailrace;
3. Institutional controls, including environmental restric-
tions and easements, and the establishment of soil man-
agement practices on areas where waste will be left in
place, restrictions on the use of groundwater both east
and west of South Street, and at least yearly monitor-
ing of compliance with all institutional controls; and
4. Long term monitoring of all areas where waste will be
left in place, as well as monitoring of groundwater to
ensure that there are not exceedances of the cleanup
standards for groundwater beyond the groundwater
compliance boundary for the waste management areas
east and west of South Street.
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DATE: MARCH 2011
BLACKBURN & UNION PRIVILEGES
SUPERFUND SITE MAP
LEWIS POND
AREA
LOWER
FORMER MILL TAILRACE
WEST/STREET
GROUNDWATER
COMPLIANCE BOUNDAR:
s/
UPPER
FORMER MILL TAILRACE
^AREA OF
CONTAINMENT
0
0
FORMER MILL BUILDING
WEST OF SOUTH STREET AREA
EAST OF SOUTH
STREET AREA
Legend
GROUNDWATER COMPLIANCE BOUNDARY
WEST OF SOUTH STREET AREA
EAST OF SOUTH STREET AREA
LEWIS POND AREA
NEPONSET RIVER
LOWER FORMER MILL TAILRACE
UPPER FORMER MILL TAILRACE
, CONTAINMENT AREA
IK* "
GRAPHICAL SCALE
0 200 400
I 1 1
I Protect!
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U ited States
Environmental Protec ion
Agency
5 Post Office Sq.
Suite 100
Boston, MA 02109-3912
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SUPERFUND
Important update
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