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EPA Concludes Cleanup of Industrial Site in Northfield, N.H.

Release Date: 10/30/2000
Contact Information: Alice Kaufman, EPA Community Affairs Office, (617-918-1064)

BOSTON - Mindy S. Lubber, regional administrator of EPA's New England Office, today joined U.S. Senator Bob Smith, Robert Varney, commissioner of the N.H. Department of Environmental Services and town officials to celebrate the completed cleanup of the former Surrette American Battery site in Northfield, NH.

EPA invested $2.6 million in cleaning up the 7.5-acre property, which housed a textile mill in the 19th century. The mill was used more recently for manufacturing lead-acid batteries before closing down in 1994.

In 1995, EPA removed and disposed of drums, containers, the contents of a storage tank, lead-contaminated roofing materials and lead contaminated soil. More than 2,000 gallons of hazardous wastes and 1,000 tons of lead-contaminated soils were removed.

In 1998, a catastrophic fire destroyed the remaining mill's main building. EPA was again on site to clean up asbestos and debris that had blown from the site into the towns of Northfield and Tilton.

The most recent removal work, done in the past year, involved removing 6,442 tons of hazardous solid waste contaminated with lead, transformers containing PCB oils, three underground oil storage tanks, a sulfuric acid storage tank and a propane tank. EPA also removed the main silo at the facility that contained lead oxides. The site is located at 10 Gibson Mill Road in Northfield.

"EPA, the Town of Northfield and the state Department of Environmental Services have done an exceptional job working together to complete this enormous cleanup job," Lubber said. "Now, after an investment of more than $2.6 million by EPA, the once-contaminated site is clean enough to provide much needed housing for the town."

The town has applied for a federal grant to conduct a feasibility study to see if the site can support an assisted living housing facility for low- and moderate-income elders.

"We are very appreciative of the cooperation among the many groups involved with this cleanup at the local, state and federal levels," added DES Commissioner Varney. "The considerable financial and personnel commitment from EPA on this project assisted DES, along with officials from both the town and the state health agency, in tackling this major cleanup. Not only has this effort removed a public health and environmental threat, but it will now lead toward a successful redevelopment of a site that will economically contribute to the community."

"As chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, I have been working to ensure that funding requirements are met to successfully complete this project," added U.S. Senator Smith. "I visited the Surrette site in June and was pleased to help secure about $750,000 in funding in order to achieve the target cleanup date. Today's closing ceremony represents the culmination of hard work by local, state and federal officials and I am pleased to have played a role."

"The success of this project can be attributed to the partnership of the town of Northfield, DES, DHHS, and the EPA working together closely with the goal of protecting the health and welfare of the communities of Northfield and Tilton," added Joyce May Fulweiler, Northfield Town Administrator.

In the course of cleanup, nearly 400 air samples and 4,206 soil samples were collected to determine the extent of contamination. EPA found debris and soil that was highly contaminated with lead and asbestos. During the cleanup, EPA cleared and recycled more than 100 tons of steel and 2,000 tires and shipped 32 transformers contaminated with PCBs for disposal.

As of this month, all of the buildings on the site have been demolished. Groundwater monitoring wells will be installed next month