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HAZARDOUS WASTE REMOVED FROM EXETER SITE

Release Date: 08/01/1996
Contact Information: Frank McIntyre, Office of External Programs; (617) 918-1095

BOSTON --- Twenty-three drums of oils and hazardous waste, assorted paints, and pressurized cylinders were removed from the Nooseneck Hill Road location formerly occupied by Medwood Machine Inc. which ceased operations in April 1995.

According to EPA's on-scene coordinator Gary Lipson, RI DEM requested the agency's assistance in May after discovering some of the drums left at the site were in poor condition and leaking. Following an inspection of the drums, it was determined removal was necessary to eliminate any potential public health risks to the neighborhood.

"The team approach we took helped accelerate the removal," Lipson said. "Once the hazardous wastes were identified we could remove them while DEM was simultaneously removing the non-hazardous waste. It made the effort much faster than working independently and waiting for one agency to finish before the other could start."

The removal action was completed in late July. The site had been a gas station until 1977 when Medwood Machine Company was established. Ownership changed in 1991 and the business became Medwood Machine Inc.