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EPA and NH DES TO HOLD INFORMATIONAL MEETING FOR MOHAWK TANNERY SITE

Release Date: 02/07/2001
Contact Information: Alice Kaufman, EPA Community Affairs, 617-918-1064

BOSTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NH DES) and Nashua officials are hosting a public information meeting on Wednesday, February 21st at 7 p.m. in the cafeteria of the Amherst Street Elementary School to discuss the recently completed cleanup activities at the former Mohawk Tannery. The tannery is located on Warsaw Avenue in Nashua, New Hampshire.

EPA and NH DES representatives will update the community on the current status of the site and future cleanup activities. Agency staff will also discuss the process whereby citizen groups may apply for federal funding to help them understand existing information about the site or information developed during the Superfund cleanup process. Representatives from the NH Department of Health and Human Services will also attend the meeting to discuss the Public Health Assessment they will be preparing for the site.

EPA completed a cleanup, called a time-critical removal action, at the site in January 2001. As part of the cleanup, EPA first posted warning signs and secured the fencing around the site to restrict public access. In addition, EPA transported waste from the site to a licensed disposal facility. The waste shipped off-site included:

    • 5 drums containing, small containers, bags, old drums and liquid waste from the aboveground storage tank found at the site;
    • 30 cubic yards of asbestos containing material from the old tannery building; and,
    • 53,000 gallons of contaminated waste from the clarifier tank.
The former tannery operated between 1924 and 1984. During it's 60 years of operations, the Mohawk Tannery, also known as Granite State Leathers, produced sludge and acidic residues from the tanning process, much of which was disposed of on site. The site was proposed for the National Priorities List in May 2000.