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Meeting Scheduled to Discuss Work in Providence, R.I. Lancashire Street Neighborhood - Jointly Hosted by U.S. EPA and R.I. DEM

Release Date: 04/11/2006
Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

(Boston, Mass. – April 11, 2006) - Federal and State officials will meet with local residents to discuss the upcoming field work that is scheduled to resume in the Lancashire Street neighborhood.

The meeting will be jointly hosted by representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RI DEM). It will be on Wed. April 26 at 7:00 p.m. in the cafeteria of the Rhode Island School for the Deaf, located at One Corliss Park in Providence.

Beginning this week, community members can expect to see EPA staff and contractors setting up trailers and equipment on three vacant lots in the neighborhood. Later this month, EPA will begin excavating and stockpiling contaminated soil from nearby residential properties that have been found to be contaminated with lead and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls).

Contaminated surface soils will be removed from twenty properties in the neighborhood between now and late July. The soils will be brought to the three vacant lots and contained until they are transported off-site for disposal. Once the cleanup of residential properties is complete, EPA will remove the stockpiled materials as well as the contaminated soil from the three vacant lots and transport it off site for disposal.

At the meeting, EPA will present an overview of the upcoming excavation activities, as well as air monitoring and dust suppression measures that will be taken to ensure that contaminants are not being released into the air. EPA will also discuss the traffic controls that will be put in place to minimize the impact of construction activities on neighborhood residents.

At the twenty residential properties, along with ten properties which were excavated during the last construction season, disturbed areas will be revegetated after excavation is completed. The work is expected to take until late-August to complete. During that time, EPA will have a field office on site and residents are welcome to stop by with any questions.

Additional information on the site can be found at: http://www.epaosc.net/lancashirestreet

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