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EPA EXAMINES PUBLIC HEALTH RISKS, CLEANUP OPTIONS AT ROSE HILL SUPERFUND SITE

Release Date: 12/07/1998
Contact Information: Alice Kaufman, EPA Community Affairs Office, (617) 918-1064

Boston -- The United States Environmental Protection Agency announced today the availability for public review of a document analyzing eight cleanup strategies for the Rose Hill Superfund Site in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. EPA will use the information gathered for this study to prepare the agency's preferred cleanup plan for the site.

The Rose Hill Superfund site was listed on EPA's Superfund National Priorities list in 1989. The site served as a municipal landfill from 1967 to 1983. Early investigations revealed elevated levels of Volatile Organic Compound's (VOC's) in the landfill's soil, groundwater and gas.

"The citizens of South Kingston and Narragansett will be instrumental in designing a cleanup plan for the Rose Hill site," said Patricia Meaney, director of Office of Site Remediation and Restoration. "This is their community and we want to work closely with residents on a plan that meets all our objectives."

"After a lengthy but successful investigation phase, I am pleased that the cleanup of the Rose Hill site is now ready to move forward." said Andy McLeod, director of Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, "In selecting the most appropriate cleanup strategy, DEM and EPA will continue to work closely with the towns of South Kingstown and Narragansett and the local residents, who have the largest stake in the cleanup."

The study results have been made available in two reports. The first report, a Feasibility Study, looks at eight cleanup alternatives for the site. The alternatives are based on the results of air, water and soil samples that were collected and analyzed by the EPA as part of a remedial investigation completed in 1994.

EPA will use this study information to select its preferred cleanup plan and present it for public review and comment in January 1999.

The second report, a Supplemental Risk Assessment, examines public health risks associated with the site. The assessment looks at activities the public may engage in that may result in potential exposure to contamination -- for example, ingestion of contaminated soil by children playing at the site. The assessment is very important to selecting an appropriate cleanup process, since reducing the risk to public health is the primary goal in cleaning up the site.

EPA released its initial Risk Assessment for the site in 1994 in conjunction with the Remedial Investigation Report. The Supplemental Risk Assessment, released today, is amended to include updated information on certain air risk factors, criteria, and assumptions that are used in more current risk assessment models for calculating contaminant emissions and human health risks.

Both the risk assessment and feasibility study are available for public review are available at the South Kingstown Public Library, 1057 Kingstown Road, Peace Dale, R.I.. Copies may also be reviewed by appointment at RIDEM's Office of Waste Management, 235 Promenade Street, Providence, R.I. or EPA's Region I Office, 90 Canal Street, Boston, MA.

Anyone who would like to add their name on a mail list to obtain a copy of the proposed preferred cleanup plan when it is released may call Sarah White, EPA community involvement coordinator toll free at 1-888-372-7341. Technical documents and reports related to site work are available for public review at the South Kingstown Public Library, at RIDEM's Office of Waste Management, and at EPA's Region I Office.