Wells G & H Superfund Site
Woburn, Massachussetts

Status of Cleanup

• Groundwater at the site is contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Soils are contaminated with VOCs, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and lead. Sediments in the Aberjona River are contaminated with PAHs and heavy metals.

• W.R. Grace and UniFirst groundwater recovery and treatment systems are in their sixth year of operation. UniFirst recovered 1307 lbs of VOCs and W.R. Grace recovered 53 lbs total VOCs in the past six years of operation. The companies constructed and began operating the groundwater cleanup systems in less than two years from the date of settlement with EPA.

• Both W.R. Grace and UniFirst have removed contaminated soil from their properties. UniFirst submitted a report summarizing the details of remaining soil contamination in 1994.

• Beatrice removed 67 tons of hazardous sludge, 354 tons of non-hazardous sludge, 255 tons of debris soils, 45 drum carcasses, and 987 tons of mixed-contaminant soils from the Wildwood property. A groundwater treatment system began operating in the spring of 1998.

• Beatrice, UniFirst and W.R. Grace also agreed in the settlement with EPA to study the area surrounding Wells G & H, well beyond their property boundaries. The companies submitted the first document in this study in early 1994.

• New England Plastics began removing contaminants from the soil in a active treatment system in February, 1998.

• Olympia Nominee Trust was the fifth source area property contributing to contamination. EPA was not able to reach an agreement for an overall cleanup with Olympia, but did require them to remove abandoned drums from their property in 1986. EPA has begun data collection in preparation for design of cleanup of this property.

• EPA sampled Aberjona River sediments, surface water, fish, crayfish and plants at locations from the Wells G & H site down to the Upper Mystic Lake in Winchester. This data will be used to assess whether there is any impact from contamination on the river.

• Woburn Public Library and EPA's regional office in Boston are sources of additional information for the public.