All News Releases By Date

EPA Will Hold Public Meeting and Begin Work In Lancashire Street Neighborhood

Release Date: 09/29/04
Contact Information:

Contact: Peyton Fleming, EPA Press Office, 617-918-1008

For Immediate Release: September 29, 2004; Release: 04-09-16

BOSTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RI DEM) will hold an information meeting on Thursday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria of the Rhode Island School for the Deaf, located at One Corliss Park in Providence. At the meeting, EPA representatives will discuss the upcoming sampling activities on several properties in the Lancashire Street neighborhood as well as a removal action on three vacant lots, scheduled to begin in the spring. A representative from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) will be present to address health related questions and concerns.

At the meeting, EPA representatives will discuss the upcoming sampling of the residential properties beginning in late October 2004. EPA contractors will sample properties to further delineate the extent of soil contamination. EPA will use the sampling results to determine if further actions are warranted, including the sampling of additional properties. The sampling is expected to continue into November 2004.

Community members can expect to see EPA staff and contractors surveying the area, selecting sample locations and collecting soil samples. Once the sampling results are in, EPA will meet individually with homeowners to explain the results. At that time another public meeting will be held to discuss any future actions by EPA. EPA will have a representative in the neighborhood during the fall to address resident questions and concerns.

Also at the meeting, EPA will discuss the cleanup plan, called a time-critical removal action, for three vacant lots in the Lancashire Street neighborhood. Using aerial photographs, data from RI DEM, results from soil samples collected earlier this year and a health assessment from ATSDR, EPA’s technical staff has developed a plan for the three vacant lots.

The analytical data from the recent site investigation revealed lead and PCB contamination on the surface. The objective of the action taken by EPA is to eliminate the contact threat to PCB’s and lead by placing a cap on the area. The capping process will consist of leveling the area, installing a water permeable fabric, ensuring proper drainage, bringing in fill material, and spreading loam and seed to assure vegetation.

Related Information:
Cleanup Process
Cleanup in New England
Lancashire Street Disposal Fact Sheet
PCB's