The PSC Resources site was abandoned in 1978, leaving millions of gallons of hazardous waste in tanks and lagoons.
FILE | 10.04.1997 – The PSC resources site on Water Street in Palmer.PALMER - The site where PSC Resources once operated at 10 Water St. is now overgrown with vegetation, covering up its past as a polluting waste oil refinery and solvent recovery plant.
When the owner walked away from the plant in 1978, millions of gallons of waste were abandoned in tanks and lagoons, giving the three-acre property a new designation - a Superfund site, meaning it was among the most toxic sites in the country.
Now, 33 years later, the site is fenced in and the contaminated soils and soils in wetlands have been removed and treated. The waste material that remains is under a plastic cap buried under two feet of soil. But as part of the monitoring process, the site is still reviewed every five years.
A recent study by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found that a cancer-causing contaminant, 1,4-dioxane, one not previously assessed, may be present on the property.
“The ability to detect low concentrations of dioxane is relatively recent,” Donald K. McElroy, the PSC Resources remedial project manager for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said.
The study recommended that when groundwater monitoring is conducted, the contaminant dioxane should be sampled for, he said. That needs to happen by 2014 to resolve the issue for the next five-year review, he said.
McElroy added that no wells are allowed in that area, so exposure concerns, even if dioxane is present, are limited. The site is still inspected twice a year, and the grass over the capped site - sort of like a mini-landfill - is mowed once a year.
He said inspectors check to make sure the cap is intact, and make necessary repairs. Animals sometimes burrow into the capped area. The contaminated soils were treated in a process with concrete to prevent leaching.
McElroy said the overall view of the site is one of great success, as the responsible parties conducted the cleanup of the soils and sediment in the late 1990s and the groundwater was predicted to clean over 10 to 12 years, “which is essentially what has happened.” Following the treatment and capping of contaminated soils and sediment, groundwater contamination quickly dropped to very low levels, McElroy said.
Cleanup levels for groundwater have been met for all but two contaminants, benzene, a known carcinogen, and vinyl chloride. In 20 years of groundwater samplings taken at the site, there has been a consistent downward trend as to the presence of contaminants, he said.
As a result, groundwater sampling now is done every five years, instead of annually.
If dioxane were to be found at the site, McElroy said, the concentration of the contaminant would determine the response. A high concentration, for example, could trigger another cleanup.
“If it shows up it will likely be at lower levels,” McElroy said.
“Groundwater-wise, I’d be pretty surprised if there are issues there,” he added.
Sediment monitoring has been suspended as sediment performance standards have been met, according to information from the federal agency. The site borders a town athletic field, and the Quaboag River, a popular swimming and fishing spot, is 200 feet to the southwest. Approximately 4,500 people live within three miles on the site, which also is close to downtown.
The decontamination and demolition of PSC buildings was completed in 1995, with the stabilization and capping of the contaminated material two years later. Wetland restoration activities also were finished in 1997. But “for the foreseeable future,” the land will not be available for redevelopment, McElroy said.
“It’s sort of a classic old Superfund site. The company got some environmental fines, and eventually they sort of left in the middle of the night,” McElroy said.
Conservation Commissioner Donald R. Duffy said it always concerned him that the site was capped, and that not all of the material was removed, as it is next to the athletic field.
“I wasn’t in favor of it at that time and never have been,” Duffy said. “I don’t like chemicals floating around where kids are playing, and near rivers.”
As to the possible presence of dioxane, Duffy said, “I hope they do some investigation and testing of soils and move forward.”
Back in 1993, a state health report showed that rates of bladder and lung cancer were higher among those living near the former PSC Resources site.
In 1994, more than 400 private corporations, as well as government agencies, all of which were identified as having dumped at the site, reached a settlement to pay for the $3.4 million cleanup.