Waste Site Cleanup & Reuse in New England

Air Monitoring During PCB Sediment Cleanup of Acushnet River in Wood / Slocum Street Area

No airborne PCB levels were detected that posed a health risk to cleanup workers or area residents during the five months of excavation work in the Acushnet River. The cleanup of PCB contaminated sediment in the Wood / Slocum Street and Sawyer Street areas is complete, resulting in 6.5 acres cleaned to EPA’s standards.

From 11/18/03 to 2/10/03: results from 51 individual PCB air samples (listed below) ranged from 0.2 to 100 ng/m³ (nanograms per cubic meter of air - a nanogram is one-billionth of a gram).

Airborne PCB concentrations below 1,000 ng/m³ for adult workers are considered safe by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

In addition to this work-place standard, EPA tracks the amount of measured airborne PCBs over time and compares these amounts to an action level. Because the airborne PCB levels are extremely low, even the highest results fall far below the level requiring any corrective action.

Sample Location Date Airborne PCB Levels* New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: North 03/19/03 15 ng/m3 New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: East 03/19/03 24 ng/m3 New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: West 03/19/03 35 ng/m3 * Airborne PCB concentration (in billionths of grams per cubic meter of air, or ng/m3) Sample Location Date Airborne PCB Levels Acushnet - Main Street 02/25/03 0.2 ng/m3 Acushnet - River View Park 02/25/03 1 ng/m3 Acushnet - River Street Parking Lot 02/25/03 2 ng/m3 New Bedford - Former Lumberyard 02/25/03 0.3 ng/m3 New Bedford - Near Wood Street Bridge 02/25/03 1 ng/m3 New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: North 02/25/03 1 ng/m3 New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: East 02/25/03 100 ng/m3 New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: West 02/25/03 1 ng/m3   Sample Location Date Airborne PCB Levels Acushnet - Main Street 02/10/03 3 ng/m3 Acushnet - River View Park 02/10/03 5 ng/m3 Acushnet - River Street Parking Lot 02/10/03 6 ng/m3 New Bedford - Former Lumberyard 02/10/03 5 ng/m3 New Bedford - Near Wood Street Bridge 02/10/03 12 ng/m3 New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: North 02/10/03 14 ng/m3 New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: East 02/10/03 30 ng/m3 New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: West 02/10/03 4 ng/m3   Sample Location Date Airborne PCB Levels Acushnet - Main Street 01/23/03 0.2 ng/m3 Acushnet - River View Park 01/23/03 3 ng/m3 Acushnet - River Street Parking Lot 01/23/03 13 ng/m3 New Bedford - Former Lumberyard 01/23/03 0.3 ng/m3 New Bedford - Near Wood Street Bridge 01/23/03 3 ng/m3 New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: North 01/23/03 0.3 ng/m3 New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: East 01/23/03 46 ng/m3   Sample Location Date Airborne PCB Levels Acushnet - Main Street 01/08/03 7 ng/m3 Acushnet - River View Park 01/08/03 21 ng/m3 Acushnet - River Street Parking Lot 01/08/03 16 ng/m3 New Bedford - Former Lumberyard 01/08/03 8 ng/m3 New Bedford - Near Wood Street Bridge 01/08/03 9 ng/m3 New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: North 01/08/03 8 ng/m3 New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: East 01/08/03 23 ng/m3 New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: West 01/08/03 3 ng/m3   Sample Location Date Airborne PCB Levels Acushnet - Main Street 12/30/02 1 ng/m3 Acushnet - River View Park 12/30/02 1 ng/m3 Acushnet - River Street Parking Lot 12/30/02 2 ng/m3 New Bedford - Former Lumberyard 12/30/02 2 ng/m3 New Bedford - Wood Street Bridge 12/30/02 2 ng/m3   Sample Location Date Airborne PCB Levels Acushnet - Main Street 12/12/02 1 ng/m3 Acushnet - River View Park 12/12/02 3 ng/m3 Acushnet - River Street Parking Lot 12/12/02 5 ng/m3 New Bedford - Former Lumberyard 12/12/02 2 ng/m3 New Bedford - Wood Street Bridge 12/12/02 6 ng/m3   Sample Location Date Airborne PCB Levels Acushnet - Main Street 11/26/02 1 ng/m3 Acushnet - River View Park 11/26/02 2 ng/m3 Acushnet - River Street Parking Lot 11/26/02 3 ng/m3 New Bedford - Former Lumberyard 11/26/02 1 ng/m3 New Bedford - Wood Street Bridge 11/26/02 6 ng/m3   Sample Location Date Airborne PCB Levels Acushnet - Main Street 11/18/02 1 ng/m3 Acushnet - River View Park 11/18/02 3 ng/m3 Acushnet - River Street Parking Lot 11/18/02 5 ng/m3 New Bedford - Former Lumberyard 11/18/02 1 ng/m3 New Bedford - Wood Street Bridge 11/18/02 4 ng/m3 * Airborne PCB concentration (in billionths of grams per cubic meter of air, or ng/m3)