EPA-540-FS-09-12S v>EPA | TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SERVICES FOR COMMUNITIES c BDGBBnn at the Raymark Industries Superfund Site www.epa.gov This fact sheet is part of a series that illustrates the services provided by U.S. EPA's Technical Assistance Services for Communities (TASC) program. Community Technical Assistance Needs The Raymark Industries Superfund site in Stratford, Connecticut includes a 33-acre former brake and clutch part manufacturing facility that operated between 1919 and 1989. Cleanup at the site began in 1992; U.S. EPA listed the site on its National Priorities List of contaminated sites in 1995. Cleanup activities at the original Raymark facility have been completed, and the facility is now in reuse as a shopping center. Cleanup is ongoing across other portions of the site. The local community has been very engaged in the site's cleanup and reuse. Most recently, plans for the removal of contaminated site waste from several residential properties led to community concerns about potential exposure to contaminated dust from these activities. Community members contacted the Stratford Health Department, which in turn contacted U.S. EPA Region 1 to request technical assistance. The community's technical assistance priorities were: • to identify any potential for community exposure to contaminated dust from planned cleanup activities; and • to ensure that technical assistance findings were accessible by a general audience and made available to all interested members of the community. To address these priorities, the Stratford Health Department sought technical assistance that would quantitatively analyze air sampling data collected during similar cleanup activities at the site in 1993 and 1994. These data could be used to assess whether soil handling practices would be adequate to prevent off-site dust migration during the removal of contaminated wastes from residential properties. r— Stratford The TASC Response EPA Region 1 contacted TASC in early May 2008. Following a kickoff meeting with EPA and the Stratford Health Department, TASC moved rapidly to address the community's technical assistance priorities. TASC mobilized a team of data analysts to sort and organize 6,000 pages of the 1993-1994 data and related documentation. Data were grouped by contaminant, by residential sampling location, and by sample type (from on-site workers or community samples). Statistical analyses compared data within each of these groups to state and federal benchmarks. Results indicated that air concentrations of contaminants were not above benchmarks during removal activities in 1993 and 1994. TASC developed a technical report that summarized these findings in plain English and delivered the report to the community on August 15, 2008. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Technical Assistance Services for Communities ------- Process Outcomes: Community Benefits TASC's services addressed the community's concerns regarding potential exposure to contaminated dust from planned cleanup activities. • The report's findings directly addressed the community's exposure concerns, finding that prior soil handling methods at the site adequately prevented off-site dust migration. • TASC's rapid response and findings have encouraged EPA to evaluate additional historical site data that may be able to inform the future cleanup activities. Bags of waste removed from the Raymark facility in 1995. Courtesy Town of Stratford What is the TASC Program? www.epa.gov/superfund/communi1y/tasc For more information on EPA's TASC program, please contact: Jim Murphy TASC Coordinator - EPA Regionl murphy.jim@epa.gov (617) 918-1028 Technical Assistance Services for Communities (TASC) is a U.S. EPA program that provides educational and technical assistance to communities affected by hazardous waste sites regulated by the Superfund and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act programs. TASC provides independent technical advisors to explain hazardous waste issues and to interpret plans for cleaning up contamination. TASC offers assistance to help communities better understand local hazardous waste issues and engage in the cleanup process. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Technical Assistance Services for Communities Printed on 100% recycled/recyclable paper ------- |