The Site, situated in the Town of Athol, is located at 62 Canal Street Athol, Worcester County, Massachusetts. The Site is a vacant lot, owned by the Town of Athol and is bordered to the north by residential and commercial properties; to the east by Canal Street and residential properties; to the south by Mill Brook, residential properties and wooded areas; and to the west by the Millers River. The 1.3-acre lot is identified by the Athol Assessor's Office as Parcel ID #023-105.
The former N.D. Cass Company manufactured products ranging from large pianos and drums to wooden toys from 1898 to 2003. On January 19, 2012, a large fire engulfed the building which resulted in several debris piles. In 2017, the Town of Athol collected samples from five debris piles on the Site for asbestos analysis. Two of the five debris piles came back indicating the presence of asbestos. On February 18, 2020, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection referred the site to the EPA Emergency Planning and Response Branch.
The primary concern for this removal action (RA) is asbestos. The piles of loose asbestos containing material fire debris are exposed to the weather and environment.
