There will be a Public Meeting at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, November 12, 2014 at the Concord Town Hall Meeting Room (22 Monument Square, Concord, MA) on the Proposed Remedial Action Plan.
The Public Hearing on the Proposed Remedial Action Plan for the Nuclear Metals, Inc. Superfund Site will be at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, December 10, 2014 at the Concord Town Hall Meeting Room (22 Monument Square, Concord, MA).
The Final Treatment System for Groundwater has been in operation since April 2, 2019. More photos of the system can be found in GW NTCRA Progress Photos.
Visit GW NTCRA Progress Photos for more photo updates.
GW Treatment System Vanox Unit with persulfate tank, January 2019.
GW Treatment System Building, January 2019.
To date, the Groundwater Treatment System building has been completely erected and minor interior work continues. During the coming weeks, it is anticipated that the electrical and plumbing services will be completed, finishing the construction phase of the building.
Concurrent with completion of the building, work has begun to install and assemble the treatment system. The system will be constructed as designed in the 100% Removal Design-Treatment System, approved by the EPA on December 12, 2018. This system will include a metals pre-treatment process prior to treating the groundwater through the Vanox™ Advanced Oxidation Process. This final step in the treatment process is a destructive technology, and it is anticipated that 1,4-dioxane will be treated to nearly non-detectable concentrations.
The Temporary Groundwater Treatment System continues operations. The Demonstration of Compliance Report through September 2018 can be found here.
Installation of the Treatment System is anticipated to last through February, 2019.
During the treatment system design process, the Temporary Groundwater Treatment System has been operating since May 2017. Continued hydraulic monitoring and routine sampling of the system and surrounding groundwater monitoring wells indicate the system continues to achieve the three performance objectives required by design: maintaining a hydraulic capture zone, decreasing concentrations of 1,4-dioxane in groundwater, and maintaining acceptable treatment system effluent concentrations. The Demonstration of Compliance Report through June 2018 can be found here.
Work during the spring and summer of 2018 has been focused on completing the final design of the permanent treatment system and continued operations of the Temporary Groundwater Treatment system.
A site specific treatability study was completed in 2017 to identify the best ex-situ treatment option for the 1,4-dioxane and VOCs in the groundwater plume. Based on this study, an Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) was selected as the most effective treatment option due to its ability to degrade 1,4-dioxane. A 100% Design Report for the system was submitted to the EPA in July 2018. Construction of the Treatment Building began in September and the final treatment system is expected to be installed and operational before the end of 2018.
Temporary Groundwater Treatment System on the Knox Trail Property, operating since May 2017 and maintaining the hydraulic containment.
Since May 23, 2017, a temporary groundwater treatment system has been operating as part of the NMI Superfund Site Non-Time-Critical Removal Action (NTCRA) for Groundwater. This treatment system is designed to extract groundwater and create a zone of hydraulic containment to minimize movement of 1,4-dioxane. This temporary system has been implemented to operate during the design phase of the permanent treatment system. Hydraulic monitoring and analytical results indicate that performance objectives for the temporary treatment system are being achieved, as supported by the data included in the December 2017 Demonstration of Compliance Report, submitted to EPA on January 10, 2018.
USEPA will host a Public Information Meeting for Nuclear Metals, Inc. Superfund site on Thursday, May 25, 2017 at 6:30 pm. The meeting will be held at Acton Town Hall, 472 Main Street Room 204, Acton, MA. If you have any questions or special needs, please contact Sarah White, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator, at 617-918-1026 or white.sarah@epa.gov. The latest site update can be accessed here.
ConstructionEquipmentGuide.com recently published an article about the clean up of Starmet Corporation’s contaminated buildings as part of the NMI NTCRA. Find the 22FEB17 published article link here or download this pdf.
On 31 AUG 2016, representatives from EPA, MassDEP and de maximis met with members of the 2229 Main Street Committee, CREW, and Green Acton, as well as representatives of the Town of Acton and Acton Water District to present an update on the Building and Groundwater Non-Time-Critical Removal Actions (NTCRAs).
The Groundwater NTCRA AOC became effective in July 2016. Between October 2015 and July 2016, significant further delineation of the extent of groundwater contamination was completed. The next steps under the Groundwater NTCRA will be installation of pumping and monitoring wells, hydraulic testing, and design and construction of an ex-situ groundwater treatment system.
The work under the Building NTCRA is now substantially complete with all demolition and off-site disposal of building debris finished. Placement of a liner cover over the demolished building sites to prevent rainwater infiltration prior to the start of the final remedial action is also complete, as shown in the August 2016 aerial photo. An updated photo log for July and August 2016 demolition activities can be found here. More photos on building demolition can be found on NTCRA Progress.
12 AUG 2016 Aerial photo looking west showing liner placed over former building sites.
June 2015 Site overview looking northwest.
Last updated on October 11, 2016