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Cleanup Work Completed at Agawam, Mass. Site

Release Date: 12/18/2009
Contact Information: Paula Ballentine, EPA Public Affairs (617) 918-1027

(Boston, Mass. – Dec. 18, 2009) – Cleanup of the Agawam Sports club was recently completed by the U.S. EPA and contractors from Guardian Environmental Services.

The site, a shooting range with both indoor and outdoor ranges, has been out of operation and vacant for over five years. The site consists of a 5,000 square foot, single-story, building for the indoor shooting range and an outdoor range approximately 100 feet from the building.

Work began at the 5.5 acre site in July. The area is adjacent to Town-owned wooded land, which is bordered by a stream. The main contaminate at the site was lead, but also present were traces of arsenic, which derived from its use in the manufacturing of pellets. The site first needed to be cleared of brush and debris before the cleanup could begin. The bulk of cleanup work was completed in late-October.

Some of the key activities accomplished in the removal action were to clear and “grub” approximately 102,000 square feet of land, excavate hot spots covering approximately 65, 640 square feet, and the installation of erosion control devices adjacent to the stream and around the trees which remained. Over eight days, 72 truckloads hauled away more than 2300 tons of treated soil from site to the City of Albany Solid Waste Management Facility.

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