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EPA Finds Cleanup to be Effective at Kingston, NH Superfund Site

Release Date: 01/30/04
Contact Information: Contact: Alice Kaufman, EPA Community Involvement Office, (617) 918-1064

For Immediate Release: January 29, 2004; Release # 04-01-15

Boston--The United States Environmental Protection Agency today confirmed that the soil and sediment remedies in place at the Ottati & Goss / Kingston Steel Drum Superfund Site in Kingston, New Hampshire continue to be effective and protective of human health.

The study, called a five-year review, is a comprehensive evaluation of the site and was undertaken to assess soil and sediment remedies at the site. This is the third five-year review of the site.
In 2002, EPA, NHDES and the US Army Corps of Engineers excavated, treated and placed back on site 73,000 tons of soil at the former Kingston Steel Drum/Great Lakes Container Corporation property. Additionally, more than 9,600 tons of contaminated sediments from a six-acre portion of the wetland east of Route 125 and adjacent to County Pond were excavated and properly disposed of in an approved landfill.

Following the excavation of contaminated soils, EPA restored the wetland with new organic material and young trees to recreate the marsh area that had been contaminated. More that 20,000 cubic yards of wetland material was imported to recreate the marsh area, and more than 1000 trees and shrubs were planted in the six-acre area as part of the restoration effort. Plantings include: Red Maple, Yellow Birch, Swamp White Oak, Silky Dogwood, Elderberry, Highbush blueberry, winterberry, Pussy Willow, Serviceberry and Red Chokeberry.

The site is the former location of the Great Lakes Container Corporation which conducted a drum reconditioning operation from the late 1950's through July 1980. The 1987 cleanup plan set out to control the source of contamination and stop the migration of contamination from the site to the nearby wetlands and lake through the excavation and treatment of contaminated soils and through treating the groundwater. In addition, buried drums, underground tanks and miscellaneous building debris were removed from the site.

The 35-acre Ottati and Goss / Kingston Steel Drum Site was placed on the EPA's National Priorities List in 1983, making it eligible for federal funding to address contamination at the site. Previous actions taken at the site include the removal of approximately 4,000 drums of waste in the early 1980's.

The five-year review included: interviewing local officials and community members, collecting information from local officials, checking the well field and treatment systems to ensure that they are operating as designed and are being properly maintained, and assessing records and reports.

In EPA's five-year review report, the agency found that the soil and sediment remedies at the site are currently protective of public health and the environment. In order for these remedies to be protective in the long-term, land use restrictions must be put in place to limit future use of the Kingston Steel Drum property to commercial uses.

The report also determined that upon completion, the groundwater portion of the remedy is expected to be protective of public health and the environment. In the interim, groundwater at the site is not being used and nearby residential wells are routinely monitored by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.

More information about cleanup activities at the site may be found on the EPA New England web site at: https://www.epa.gov/region1/superfund. EPA technical reports and documents are available for public review in the site information repository located in the Kingston Town Hall, 163 Main Street, Kingston, NH.

Related Information:
Ottati & Goss, Kingston, NH Fact Sheet
5 Year Review
Superfund in New England