Release Date: 08/19/2015
Contact Information: Dave Deegan, (617) 918-1017
BOSTON – The owner/operators and parties responsible for hazardous substance disposal at the Landfill & Resource Recovery Superfund Site in North Smithfield, R.I., have agreed to perform and pay for an investigation and study to evaluate the extent of, and cleanup options for, contaminated groundwater at the site.
Until 2014, groundwater samples collected in the monitoring wells at the edge of the landfill generally showed declining concentrations of contaminants. However, in 2014 groundwater samples further down-gradient of the landfill found contaminant concentrations exceeding acceptable levels for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and arsenic. In addition, 1,4-dioxane, a contaminant newly identified at the site, was found at elevated levels in the groundwater and in surface water near the landfill. No site-related contamination was found in nearby residential drinking water wells, which will continue to be monitored as a precaution.
“The parties responsible for polluting must take responsibility for finding out how far the contamination goes and the best way to clean it,” said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “Over the years, EPA has worked to address contamination at this site, and this agreement will help ensure the cleaning up of pollution caused by the landfill.”
The 28-acre site was listed on the National Priorities List of Superfund sites in 1982. Now an inactive landfill, it historically received domestic, commercial and industrial wastes, including materials in liquid, sludge and solid forms. Since the early 1990s, the responsible parties have been cleaning up the site under EPA and RIDEM oversight, including the installation of a landfill cap and a flare to control air emissions, and monitoring groundwater, air and surface water.
More information:
- The administrative record file for the groundwater portion of the site is available at the Landfill & Resource Recovery Superfund Site information repository at Municipal Annex Building, 85 Smithfield Road, North Smithfield, RI 02895, and at EPA’s Boston office.
- EPA’s past and ongoing work at Landfill & Resource Recovery Superfund Site (http://www.epa.gov/region1/superfund/sites/l&rr)