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EPA To Begin Cleanup at Former Metal Plating Facility in Worcester

Release Date: 08/10/2001
Contact Information: Andrew Spejewski, EPA Community Public Affairs Office, (617) 918-1014

BOSTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it will begin an removal action at the Barstow site, a defunct metal plating shop in Worcester, Mass. Beginning next week, EPA contractors will remove over 100 containers of hazardous materials and securely dispose of them at EPA approved facilities.

"It's important that we take care of this problem quickly because of the potential exposure of the people in the neighborhood," said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator for EPA's New England office. Noting that urban neighborhoods often bear the brunt of greater public health and environmental threats, Varney added, "We owe it to inner-city neighborhoods such as this one to get these kinds of hazards cleaned up sooner rather than later."

The site is a former metal plating facility that is located at 722 Plantation St. in Worcester. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection requested EPA's help when the former owner was unable to complete a cleanup of the site.

More than 100 containers, ranging from 55 gallon drums to one gallon pails, remain inside the cinder block building. They contain acids, alkalines, metal solutions, flammables, and other hazardous materials. In addition, five dumpsters containing contaminated debris and scrap metal from the former metal plating activities, are stored outdoors at the facility, and some mixed debris remains inside the facility. EPA will evaluate all the materials, and any hazardous materials will be removed to an EPA-approved disposal facility.