Lewis Chemical Site Update - February
2024
WHATS HAPPENING NOW?
Removal work to clean up the Lewis Chemical site is still on-going by the
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
To date, around 2,500 tons of Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and
volatile organic compounds (VOCs)-contaminated soil has been excavated and transported
off-site to EPA approved landfill facilities.
WHAT TO EXPECT?
Approximately 1,500 tons of contaminated soil needs to be dug up and
shipped to EPA approved landfills. Water will continue to be used to control dust from going into the
air. Monitoring for contamination in the air will also continue. Depending on the weather,
excavation work may take until May or June. Once completed, around 60
additional trucks will be need be loaded so the contamination can be transported
to a landfill. Community members will see trucks coming in and out of the site
at different times each day. Once the digging and removal of contaminated soil
is complete, the site will be backfilled with clean soil.
A traffic plan to truck off contaminated soil and to bring in clean soil
was created and discussed with the Boston Police and Fire Department. A police
officer will direct traffic at the intersection of Fairmount Court and
Fairmount Avenue during trucking. An EPA contractor will also be present by the
train station to direct traffic whenever a truck is moving past.
BACKGROUND:
The Lewis Chemical Site is comprised of three properties located
at Fairmount Court, 12-24 Fairmount Court, and Fairmount Avenue in Hyde Park,
Suffolk County, Massachusetts. The city of Boston (city) owns two parcels, and the
other is owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and managed as
environmental preservation land by the Department of Conservation and
Recreation (DCR). The entire
Site abuts the Neponset River and is adjacent to the Fairmount Massachusetts
Bay Transportation Authority train station and railroad tracks. The area around
the Site is a densely populated residential/commercial
neighborhood with approximately 20,858 people residing within a one-mile radius. Also, within the one-mile radius there are 15
schools, three nursing homes and six childcare centers.
Many different businesses operated at the City-owned properties from
the late 1800s until the early 1960s. The
Lewis Chemical Corp., operated from 1963 to 1983, collecting, transporting,
storing, and processing hazardous wastes. In 1983, after an explosion and fire at the
facility, Lewis Chemical’s license to operate was revoked.
From 1983 to 2021, the city and DCR completed environmental
assessments of their portions of the Site and found that the Site soils were
contaminated, most notably with polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs) as the contaminant of concern, in addition to volatile organic compounds
(VOCs), and metals.
On June 21, 2022, and November 9, 2022, MassDEP and the city
respectively requested EPA’s assistance to address hazardous substances
existing at the Site. In October 2022,
EPA initiated a Preliminary Assessment/Site Investigation and confirmed that
the contaminants in Site soils pose a risk to public health and the
environment.
In January of
this year, EPA approved a $3.9 million short-term cleanup plan, or removal
action. EPA will begin this removal
action in March of 2023. The goal is to remove the source of contamination by excavating
and disposing soil contaminated with PCBs and other collocated hazardous
substances.
