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McCoy Field/New Keith Middle School, New Bedford, Massachusetts
EPA Approves New Bedford McCoy Field PCB Clean Up Plan
Updated August 30, 2005
EPA has approved a plan developed by the City of New Bedford to
clean up, cap and dispose of PCB contamination at the McCoy Field
site in New Bedford. EPA’s approval follows several months
of careful science-based analysis, as well as a thorough evaluation
of comments submitted by the public between June 14 and July 29.
EPA’s approval imposes a substantial number of conditions designed to ensure that the site can be used as a school without risk from PCBs.
EPA’s evaluation of the City’s plan focused on ensuring that an effective clean up remedy for the site is in place that will be protective of human health and the environment. EPA’s review also concludes that the plan is consistent with the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and federal PCB regulations.
To address public concerns raised during public meetings and in comments submitted to the Agency, the approval also requires that the City of New Bedford develop and submit detailed plans for a long-term monitoring and maintenance program to evaluate the caps, groundwater and sediment, vent gas and indoor air.
Further, the City is required to develop plans to ensure continued public communication regarding its efforts, and to train on-site workers (such as landscapers) on the physical controls put in place to prevent disturbance of contaminated materials.
Background
New Bedford conducted a human health risk assessment of McCoy Field, based on the City’s intention to build a new public school on the site. In performing the assessment, the City evaluated a number of activities that could result in exposure to students, visitors, school and municipal employees, and for construction and utility workers as part of the scenarios.
While EPA did not play a decision-making role in the selection of the site for the new Keith Middle School, EPA believes that the City’s plan is acceptable and there will be no unreasonable risk to public health or the environment when the cleanup and subsequent monitoring and maintenance are conducted in accordance with the terms and conditions in the approval.
EPA’s approval of the City of New Bedford’s clean up plan is only for the McCoy Field site. The approval does not address contamination to adjacent wetlands, private properties, or at the existing high school. The City of New Bedford has submitted a plan to EPA describing the City's proposal to address PCB contamination of wetlands near McCoy Field which EPA is currently reviewing.
McCoy Field Clean Up Plan
The McCoy Field cleanup plan submitted by New Bedford, and approved by EPA, includes:
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Removal of PCBs of greater than or equal to 100 parts per million within the excavation areas;
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Installation of a surface cover outside the building footprint: for landscaped areas there will be a geotextile liner and a 3-foot clean soil cap; for parking areas the surface cover will be a geotextile liner and a 2-foot clean cap with an asphalt cover;
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Construction of the school building on pile caps/grade beams above ground surface;
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Installation of a passive vapor collection system and solid vapor barrier beneath the building footprint;
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Establishment of a long-term monitoring and maintenance plan for the surface covers and indoor and groundwater monitoring;
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Development of a communications plan as part of the long-term monitoring and maintenance implementation plan.
Useful Links
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McCoy Field PCB Cleanup and Disposal Approval with Attachment 1 (Approval Conditions) (PDF, 13 pp., 153 KB, about PDF)
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List of Documents in Administrative Record (Attachment 2) (PDF, 2 pp., 26 KB, about PDF)
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EPA Response to Comments (Attachment 3) (PDF, 22 pp., 174 KB, about PDF)
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Technical Support Document for McCoy Field PCB Cleanup and Disposal Approval (PDF, 8 pp., 115 KB, about PDF)
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McCoy Field Proposed Keith Middle School Fact Sheet (PDF, 4 pp., 123 KB, about PDF)
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