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EPA Begins Cleanup of Abandoned Property in Prospect, Conn.

Release Date: 10/05/2001
Contact Information: Andrew Spejewski, EPA Press Office, (617) 918-1014

BOSTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today it is beginning a cleanup at the former U.S. Cap and Jacket site in Prospect, Conn. to remove abandoned underground storage tanks and contaminated soil suspected of contaminating local wells. EPA contractors will begin work October 9th. The cleanup is estimated to take 2-3 months and cost $900,000.

"We're going to permanently remove this threat to the area's drinking water supplies," said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator for the EPA's New England office. "Credit goes to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, the Town of Prospect, and the Cheshire-Prospect-Wolcott Health District for their hard work in getting us to this point, and for their continued cooperation during this cleanup."

"The strong partnership between state and federal environmental agencies has again provided a direct benefit towards the restoration of Connecticut's environment and the protection of our citizen's health," said Arthur J. Rocque Jr., commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CT DEP).

"Tax Collector Diane Lauber and I are very pleased; we've been working on this for ten years," said Prospect Mayor Robert Chatfield. "Our goal is to get this site cleaned up and hopefully back on the tax rolls."

The five-acre site is located on New Haven Road in Prospect. It was used by Jaymax Industries for manufacturing from 1961 to 1978, and by U.S. Cap and Jacket from1983 to 1990. The property has been abandoned since 1990. The site contains an abandoned building, at least three underground storage tanks containing different volatile organic compounds, and soils contaminated with pesticides, volatile organic compounds and metals.

In 1997, a residential well near the site was found to be contaminated with high levels of PCE and TCE, two toxic chlorinated solvents. The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CT DEP) installed a treatment system to remove the contaminants from the homeowners water supply. Traces of PCE and TCE below state and federal action levels have also been detected in other area drinking wells.

In 2000, at the request of the town, EPA's Brownfields unit funded a site investigation to determine the site's reuse potential. The investigation revealed high levels of contamination at the site, and the town and the CT DEP requested that EPA conduct a cleanup at the site to remove the source of well water contamination in the area.

EPA's contractors will be determining the extent of contamination and identifying all underground tanks for removal. Contaminated soil will be disposed of off-site. The cleanup will be assisted by the CT DEP who will be providing an on-site mobile lab on site for use during the cleanup.