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Hatheway and Patterson Site Added to National Priorities List (Superfund)

Release Date: 09/04/2002
Contact Information: Alice Kaufman, EPA Press Office, 617-918-1064

BOSTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today added the Hatheway and Patterson site in Mansfield, Massachusetts, to the National Priorities List (NPL), commonly known as the Superfund. The Superfund is EPA's list of the country's hazardous waste sites that have been identified for possible long-term cleanup by the federal government. Superfund makes public funds available to clean up toxic waste sites when private financing is unavailable. The government can later recoup its costs from current and past owners of the property.

"We have been working closely with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection for a number of years to address contamination at this site. Listing Hatheway and Patterson on the NPL ensures that we will do what it takes to get the site back on the tax rolls, " said Robert W. Varney, EPA New England regional administrator. "Today's listing ensures that this site will get cleaned up. We have already secured more than $1 million to start the project. We are looking forward to working closely with the community to help us every step of the way."

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health advises people not to eat fish caught from the Rumford River, which runs through this site.

In 1953, Hatheway and Patterson began treating and preserving wood products such as planking, timber, and poles on its 40 acre Mansfield parcel. The Rumford River runs through the middle of the property and has been found to be contaminated with dioxins, furans, and phenols which have damaged fisheries and wetlands.

In 1993, EPA undertook a $1.4 million emergency cleanup at the site which had been abandoned with no electricity or heat in the buildings. The agency removed hazardous substances in soil and bulk storage tanks, and a total of 50,000 gallons of waste water.

Last week, EPA announced plans to take a 12-acre former vehicle repair and salvage yard, the Pinette's Salvage Yard site in Washburn, Maine, off the Superfund, having completed a $12.5 million cleanup.

EPA, today, also added the Callahan Mine site in Brooksville, ME, to the Superfund list.