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AGENCIES CONCLUDE NO IMPACT TO SOILS ON RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES FROM THE UNION CHEMICAL SUPERFUND SITE

Release Date: 09/29/1997
Contact Information: Terrence Connelly, EPA Project Manager, (617) 573-9638 Erin Heskett, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator (617) 918-1054 Rebecca Hewett, Maine DEP Project Manager, (207) 287-8554

BOSTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency, working with Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Hope Committee for a Clean Environment, and the responsible parties, recently concluded that residential properties near the Union Chemical Company Superfund Site in South Hope, Maine, were not contaminated from the fallout of an incinerator that operated there in the early 1980's.

In April 1997 the EPA and MEDEP signed off on final reports of soil sampling on residential properties near the Union Chemical Company. The reports indicated that the company's incinerator did not contaminate soils on surrounding residential properties. The findings are reported in a document called an "Explanation of Significant Differences to the Record of Decision," which can be found at the Public Library in South Hope, Maine.

The patterns in which these particles traveled was studied using historical meteorological data from Augusta, Maine. Computer modeling was used to simulate actual dispersion patterns from the incinerator to the surrounding area. Based on these studies, soil samples collected north and east of the site showed no pattern or concentration of contamination that could be associated with the incinerator.

However, since the meteorological studies of the area were based on data from Augusta, 26 miles to the west, the public was concerned that the air patterns local to the Union Chemical site were different than those recorded in Augusta. As a result, the EPA's selected cleanup plan required that meteorological data be collected and studied at the Union Chemical site for five years. These studies would allow for a more accurate estimate of local weather patterns, avoiding use of abnormal weather conditions to estimate dispersion and deposition of airborne materials from the incinerator.

Studies of meteorological data collected in the first year at the Union Chemical Site indicated the same pattern of dispersion from the incinerator as that indicated by studies performed using Augusta data during the initial site investigations. Based on this finding, the agencies met with Hope Committees for a Clean Environment and the settling defendants' coordinator and decided to make the first year sampling effort comprehensive. This time, sampling would include locations identified by the computer modeling, as well as locations indicated by personal observations of community members.

Soil testing from July and September 1996 indicated elevated levels of lead in soil close to buildings, but no patterns of widespread concentrations. The EPA determined that this lead contamination is unrelated to operations at Union Chemical Company. The 1996 soil tests and computer modeling results led all parties to agree that possible impacts from the Union incinerator were negligible and that collection of meteorological data at the Union Chemical site would be stopped at the end of 1996.

The meteorological data was collected at the site throughout 1995 and 1996 in order to assure that the 1994 data used for the modeling was representative of the local weather patterns. A comparison of the wind speed and direction and the frequency of each showed that the data were similar for all three years. A report documenting this comparison was approved by the EPA in May 1997.

The Union Chemical Company was incorporated in 1967 as a paint stripping and solvent manufacturing business, which expanded to include solvents reclamation. The owner of the facility operated an incinerator for a limited period of time in the early 1980s to dispose of spent paint solvents.

EPA and Maine officials meet regularly with Hope Committee for a Clean Environment to update the community on progress with the soil and groundwater cleanup at the site. If you would like further information on this group, please contact Brian Powers at (207) 785-4311.