Proposed Keith Middle School Site
EPA Proposes Approval of McCoy Field Cleanup Plan
What is EPA's Role in Redeveloping the McCoy Field?
Locating the new middle school at the McCoy Field is a local decision over which EPA has no authority.
EPA's involvement with this school project is triggered by the presence of PCBs. Under the Toxic
Substances Control Act, EPA is required to oversee the cleanup and disposal of PCBs at this site. The
MA Department of Environmental Protection is addressing the other contaminants of concern including
metals and semi-volatile organics.
EPA's oversight at the McCoy Field includes the following:
• requiring a cleanup plan from the City of New Bedford;
• reviewing the cleanup plan;
• rendering a decision on the cleanup plan's technical merits that is either: approval, approval
with conditions, or denial;
providing implementation and maintenance oversight of the cleanup plan.
Want More Information?
Come to an informational meeting 7 pm,
Wednesday, June 22, 2005 at the Keith
Middle School Library, 70 Hathaway Blvd.,
New Bedford.
Copies of EPA's proposed approval and all
relevant site documents are available for
review at the New Bedford Free Public
Library (613 Pleasant St., New Bedford) and
at EPA (One Congress St., Boston).
What Does it Mean that EPA has Issued a "Draft Approval" for a Risk-Based Cleanup
and Disposal Plan for the McCoy Field?
At this point in the process, EPA has completed its review of the cleanup plan submitted by the City
of New Bedford. Based on the technical components, EPA has issued a draft approval of the plan.
Final approval is pending public input on the plan's technical merits and long-term monitoring and
maintenance plan.
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What are PCBs?
PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) are
man-made chemicals which are
typically oily liquids, ranging from
colorless to light yellow in color. They
have no smell or taste. PCBs were
widely used as coolants and lubricants
in transformers, capacitors, and other
electrical equipment until 1977 when
the manufacturing of PCBs was
banned.
Although PCBs are no longer
manufactured, they are persistent
chemicals and once in the
environment, do not break down
easily. Due to their limited volatility
and solubility, PCBs they tend to
remain attached to particles of soil,
although any process that moves soil
can also move the attached PCBs.
Airborne PCBs are a health risk only
when one breathes HIGH airborne
levels of PCBs for a LONG time.
The health effects from PCBs may
include liver and immune system
damage; neurological, developmental,
and reproductive effects; and cancer.
What Input can Citizens Have at this Point?
• EPA welcomes comments on the technical
merits of the cleanup plan. If new technical
information is presented which was not included
in the Application, was not considered in EPA's
decision-making process, and would impact
EPA's determination on the safety of the
proposed plan, EPA could direct the cleanup
plan to be modified or decline final project
approval.
• EPA is also soliciting comments regarding the
site's long-term monitoring and maintenance
implementation plan (MMIP). The MMIP shall
also include a communications component
which details how the maintenance and
monitoring results will be communicated with
all site users. Public comment will be considered
in determining the final requirements for the
site's monitoring program.
• Comments must be received or postmarked by
Friday, July 15, 2005 and can be sent to:
Kimberly Tisa, PCB Coordinator
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency
One Congress Street, Suite 1100
(CPT)
Boston, MA 02144-2023
By e-mail:
tis a .kimberly @ep a. go v
By fax: Attn: Kimberly Tisa at 617-
918-0527
How is this Cleanup Plan 'Risk-Based'?
The risk-based cleanup plan, submitted to EPA on March 21, 2005, is designed to address all known
soil contamination at the site, but focuses primarily on the most prevalent and toxic contaminants
including PCBs, PAHs, and metals. In order to have health risks from chemicals, one has to have
exposure to those chemicals at levels that can be harmful. A Human Health Risk Assessment
determines what possibility there is that chemicals from a site will cause current or future health
risk to individuals who come into contact with them. Risk assessments are conservative, to prevent
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underestimating the health risks to the public. These risk assessments are used to develop cleanup
plans that protect human health and the environment.
The City conducted a Human Health Risk Assessment for the McCoy Field with the future reuse
being a school. In performing the assessment, it evaluated a number of activities that could result in
exposure to humans. Direct contact exposure could occur if contaminated soil comes in contact with
skin or if contaminated soil is ingested through unintentional hand-to-mouth transfer. The possible
activities were evaluated with students, school employees, visitors, municipal employees, and current
workers, such as construction and utility workers as part of the scenarios.
This human health risk assessment and the proposed cleanup actions were reviewed by EPA and
were found to be consistent with EPA methodologies and risk guidelines. EPA has determined that
the City's proposed plan is acceptable and there will be no unreasonable risk to site users when the
cleanup is completed. As an added safety measure, a long-term monitoring and maintenance program
will be implemented to insure continued protectiveness of the cleanup actions.
Cleanup Plan Overview
EPA's draft Approval is only for the McCoy Field site and does not address contamination to adjacent
wetlands, on residential properties, or at the existing High School. In general, the proposed cleanup
plan includes the following:
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, which includes:
landscaped areas: a geotextile liner and a minimum of a 3-foot soil cap;
parking areas: a geotextile liner and a minimum 2-foot soil 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 (MIPP).
While the MIPP has not been fully developed, the application does provide a proposed plan for
monitoring and maintenance for the surface covers, indoor air, and groundwater. More detailed
information on the clean up plan can be found in the site documents at the New Bedford Free Public
Library (613 Pleasant St., New Bedford) and at EPA (One Congress St., Boston).
What Additional Safeguards are being Included in the Cleanup Plan?
EPA believes the excavation of the most contaminated soil and the installation of the surface covers
are protective of human health, and has determined that there will be no unreasonable risk to site
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users when the cleanup is completed. However, the following required additional protective
measures will provide an added level of safety. These include:
indoor air monitoring;
• solid vapor barrier;
• passive ventilation system.
Have Other Contaminated Sites been Redeveloped for Reuses that Include
Children?
Yes. Throughout the country, there are many examples where contaminated sites have been
redeveloped in ways that protect human health and the environment. Schools, educational, and
municipal buildings have been built in Everett, Lowell and Springfield, MA; New Haven, CT;
and Providence, RI. These serve as examples where contaminated sites now safely host children.
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Boston, MA
Doug Gutro
Special Assistant to the
Regional Administrator
617-918-1021
Toll Free 1-888-372-7341, ext. 81021
MA Department of Environmental
Protection - Lakeville Office
Gerard Martin
508-946-2799
Additional information on PCBs may be
found on EPA's website at
www.epa.gov/pcb and on the City's
website at www.ci.new-bedford.ma.us.
EPA's draft approval is posted at:
http://www.ci.new-bedford.ma.us/
mccoy.htm
Background
The proposed site for the new Keith Middle School occupies
approximately 7 acres and is bounded by Hathaway Blvd, Ruggles.
Summit and Durfee Streets. The site is owned by the City of New
Bedford and was previously used as a recreational field. Historic dumping
and burning activities from the operations at the former municipal burn
dump (located at the existing New Bedford High School) is likely
responsible for the PGBs, metals, (including lead and barium) and
polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contaminating the site.
In March 2004, the City determined that PGBs were present in soil
samples collected from the site and along the proposed utility corridor at
greater than 50 parts per million. As a result, EPA and the City entered
into a Consent Agreement and Final Order (GAFO) on May 21, 2004.
This agreement:
allowed excavated soil disposal based on existing PGB
concentrations;
required the City to conduct sampling to characterize the site's
contaminants in areas proposed for utility corridors and within
the proposed building footprint;
Required the City to cleanup the PGBs in accordance with the
requirements of federal PGB Regulations.
EPA amended the GAFO on October 16, 2004 to incorporate additional
areas for characterization and soil removal.
As the party responsible for conducting the cleanup, the City of New
Bedford officially designated the site as a Public Involvement Plan Site
on March 30, 2004 after the MA Department of Environmental
Protection received a request to have the site designated as such. The
City has established information repositories and has held regular public
meetings to provide site activity updates.
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