RETURN TO USE INITIATIVE
2012 Demonstration Project
NORWOOD PCBS:
Norwood, Massachusetts
THE SITE: The 26-acre Norwood RGBs Superfund
site (the Site) is located on Route 1 in a commercial
area of Norwood, Massachusetts. For almost 40 years,
a succession of businesses that manufactured electrical
equipment operated from the Site. Improper disposal
practices resulted in contamination of soil and ground
water at the Site with polychlorinated biphenyls (RGBs)
and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In 1979, the site
owner subdivided the Site into a 10-acre northeastern
portion and a 16-acre southern and western portion.
Grant Gear Works, Inc. leased the 10-acre portion of the
Site, using the on-site facilities to conduct industrial gear
manufacturing. Several parties purchased the remaining
16-acre portion of the Site and further divided the area
into seven lots and a private roadway.
After site investigations identified PCBs in soil in
1983, the EPA and the Massachusetts Department
of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) conducted
emergency cleanup activities. The EPA removed 518
tons of PCB-contaminated soil and disposed of it at an
off-site facility. MassDEP fenced off and covered areas
containing high levels of PCB contamination. During
cleanup activities, the EPA found additional contaminants
in soil and identified elevated levels of PCB and VOCs in
ground water. Subsequently the EPA placed the Site on
the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1986. From 1989 until
1999, the EPA conducted additional cleanup activities,
including removing contaminated soil and sediment from
a brook next to the Site, placing contaminated materials
under an asphalt cap on site, placing a gravel cover over
two lesser-contaminated areas, and demolishing an on-
site facility. From 1996 to 2001, the EPA also constructed
and operated a ground water treatment facility to address
contaminated ground water. The EPA worked with the
Site's potentially responsible parties (PRPs) to conduct
long-term maintenance activities. The PRPs collect
ground water, surface water and sediment samples on an
annual basis with the EPA and MassDEP oversight.
PICTURED: In the event that future digging occurs in the
parking area, an orange marker layer indicates the transition
between the bottom of the new parking surface and the top ofthe
remedial cap. (source: The EPA)
BARRIERS: The Site's original institutional controls (ICs)
did not consider redevelopment activities. Additionally, the
community expressed concerns about the safety of the Site
following redevelopment.
SOLUTION: The EPA and MassDEP worked closely with
developers and the local community to develop compatible
ICs and reuse plans to ensure the protectiveness ofthe Site's
remedy and the long-term safety of redevelopment activities.
SEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Superfund Redevelopment Initiative

BEFORE: 26-acre commercial property impacted by soil
and ground water contamination.
AFTER: Two large commercial/retail facilities providing
56,000-square feet of commercial/ retail space.
PICTURED: One of the storefronts on the redeveloped
property, (source: The EPA)
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THE OPPORTUNITY: In 1997, a local business owner entered into a Prospective Purchaser Agreement
(PPA) with the EPA as part of his purchase of the 10-acre portion of the Site, where the majority of contaminants
are located. The agreement required his cooperation with the recording of land use restrictions (also known as
institutional controls or"ICs") on the site property to protect the remedy. After purchasing a portion of the Site and
completion of remedy construction in 2001, the business owner leased the property to a private retail developer.
The developer's initial proposed redevelopment required some modification of the ICs to facilitate reuse. This
provided the EPA, the property owner and the developer an opportunity to work together to ensure that the
remedial cap and cover at the Site remained in place and protective during and after the Site's redevelopment. In
2008, when developers completed plans for commercial facilities at the Site, the EPAand MassDEP worked with
the developers to enhance the protectiveness of the Site's remedy as part of the redevelopment construction.
BARRIERS: The original ICs, placed on the Site in 1992, did not consider the Site's redevelopment.
Commensurate with the property transfer, the EPA and MassDEP drafted new ICs, which contemplated
future reuse of the property. Subsequently, developers proposed several plans for redevelopment, including a
large retail building centered on the permanent cap area. This proposed plan would have resulted in intrusive
activities into the most-contaminated materials, so the local government and community rejected the plan.
THE SOLUTION: The EPA worked closely with MassDEP, the PRPs, site owners, developers and the
local community to record the modified ICs. EPA and MassDEP collaborated with developers to create a
redevelopment work plan that preserved remedy components and was consistent with the land use restrictions
previously recorded. The final plan proposed two smaller commercial/retail buildings situated around the capped
area. The plan situated the central parking lot over the capped area where the most-highly contaminated soil is
located. In 2008, the Site's developer submitted the construction work plan and, with the approval of the EPA
and MassDEP, redevelopment construction began. Developers added additional gravel to the gravel portions
of the Site to provide the necessary grading for the construction of the commercial buildings and enhance
protectiveness. The construction of a parking lot for the commercial center provided the opportunity to increase
the thickness of the asphalt cap and thus, the protectiveness of the remedy. Construction of the new buildings
also included the installation of a passive vapor mitigation system consisting of a layer of gravel and a network
of transmission lines vented to the exterior to ensure the safety of the buildings' occupants. Additionally, the
building design included provisions to allow for air sampling beneath the buildings.
THE SITE NOW: Today, protectiveness of the remedy exceeds what cleanup plans for the Site required.
The Site provides two large facilities on the northeastern portion of the Site totaling 56,000 square feet of
commercial/retail space. Monkey Sports, a sports equipment retailer, currently occupies one of the facilities
and the second facility remains available for use. Close collaboration between the EPA, MassDEP, the PRPs,
developers and local community has resulted in the successful redevelopment of the 10-acre northeastern
portion of the Site while also preserving the protectiveness of the remedy in place. In addition, this new
development complements prior commercial development on the southern and western portions of the Site.
Area commercial development, completed in the mid-1980s, currently houses a variety of businesses, including
a two-year private college, business and medical supply and wholesale retailers, a martial arts center and a toy
store. The new Monkey Sports store brings additional retail resources to this growing commercial area.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Daniel Keefe, Remedial Project Manager,
at keefe.daniel@epa.aov or (617) 918-1327; or John Podgurski, Region 1 Superfund Redevelopment
Coordinator, at podgurski.john@epa.gov or (617) 918-1296.
&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Superfund Redevelopment Initiative
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