W.R.Grace

1. W.R.Grace By: Mark Nagorney Allison Polster Dan King

2. Site Description: • Located in the towns of Acton and Concord, Massachusetts • Approximately 260 acres • Former location of the American Cyanamid Company and the Dewey & Almy Chemical Company

3. Site Description: • Solid and hazardous wastes were buried in or placed onto an on-site industrial landfill and several other disposal areas • These other waste sites included the Battery Separator Lagoons, the Battery Separator Chip Pile, the Boiler Lagoon, and the Tank Car Area • All discharges sent to the unlined pits by W.R Grace were ceased in 1980

4. Site Description: • They produced sealant products for rubber containers, latex products, plasticizers, resins, and other products • W. R. Grace purchased the properties of American Cyanamid and Dewey & Almy in 1954 • W. R. Grace facility produces materials used to make concrete, container sealing compounds, latex products and paper and plastic battery separators. • Liquid wastes from the manufacturing process were disposed of into several unlined lagoons • These lagoons were the: primary lagoon, secondary lagoon, north lagoon, and the emergency lagoon

5. Threats and Contaminants • Volatile Organic Compounds • 1,1 DCE • Benzene • vinyl chloride • ethyl benzene • inorganics including • iron, • manganese • lead • Arsenic • chromium • nickel

6. Threats and Contaminants1,1 DCE • 1,1-Dichloroethylene • Organic liquid with a mild, sweet, chloroform-like odor • Most all of it is used in making adhesives, synthetic fibers, refrigerants, food packaging and coating resins • Other names • 1,1-DCE • 1,1-Dichloroethene • Asym-dichloro-ethylene • Vinylidene chloride • When released into water, 1,1-DCE will evaporate from soil and will leach into the groundwater where its fate is unknown, but degradation is expected to be slow • This is the treatment method approved by the EPA: Granular activated charcoal in combination with Packed Tower Aeration

7. Threats and Contaminants1,1 DCE • Regulation: • The MCLG is set at 7 parts per billion • Given present technology and resources, this is the lowest level to which water systems can reasonably be required to remove this contaminant should it occur in drinking water • Health Effects: • Short period of exposed time: Liver damage • Long period of exposed time: liver and kidney damage, as well as toxicity to the developing fetus; cancer

8. Benzene • Benzene is a clear, colorless aromatic liquid • Highly Flammable • The greatest use of benzene is as a building block for making plastics, rubber, resins and synthetic fabrics like nylon and polyester • Other uses include: as a solvent in printing, paints, dry cleaning and so on • Other names: • Benzol 90 • Pyrobenzol • Polystream • Coal naphtha • Phene

9. Benzene • Regulation: • The MCLG for benzene has been set at zero • The MCL has been set at 5 parts per billion • Health Effects: • Short term exposure: temporary nervous system disorders, immune system depression, anemia • Long term exposure: chromosome aberrations, cancer

10. Clean-up • Clean up is being handled in 4 stages: Interim Actions and three long-term operable unit (OU) remedial phases which focus on aquifer restoration • OU 1- soil removal and remediation, landfill and lagoon closures • OU 2-residual soil contamination • OU 3-on-site and off-site groundwater, surface water, sediments and wetlands

11. Initial Action • The companies responsible for site contamination removed the hazardous storage tanks from the site in 1982 and 1983.

12. Aquifer Restoration • The companies held responsible have installed and operated an Aquifer Restoration System • This system pumps contaminated groundwater and then removes the contaminants by air stripping/volatilization

13. Landfill and Lagoon Closure • The EPA's recommended cleanup plan included: • excavating and transporting for off-site incineration the highly contaminated material from the Blowdown Pit • excavating and stabilizing the material in the Blowdown Pit, the Primary Lagoon, Secondary Lagoon, North Lagoon, and Emergency Lagoon by mixing it with cement, lime, and fly ash to form a solid • excavating the soils from the Battery Separator Lagoons • Boiler Lagoon, and Tank Car area; placing both the stabilized and non-stabilized materials excavated from the site in the existing industrial landfill and covering these materials with a cap to prevent surface water or rain water from coming into contact with the buried contaminants; closing the Chip Pile area • modifying the Aquifer Restoration System to address emission controls • extensive monitoring activities in each area

14. Groundwater Treatment • W.R. Grace has maintained and operated a groundwater pump and treatment system which removes volatile organic compounds from groundwater since 1985 • Currently the companies responsible has been performing a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study and human health and ecological risk assessment for on and off site groundwater, surface water and sediments to determine the nature, extent, levels and threats of hazardous contaminants • A Final Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study will be prepared and submitted by the companies responsible under, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and town oversight by the end of this June

15. Environmental Progress • Removing the storage tanks, contaminated materials and installing the aquifer restoration system have greatly reduced the potential for exposure to hazardous substances in groundwater • September of 1997 over 100,000 cubic yards of contaminated materials were excavated or treated on-site by thermal treatment & solidification • Some highly contaminated materials were shipped offsite so they could get proper disposal • The Aquifer Restoration System has removed approximately 7,600 pounds of total VOCs from groundwater.

16. Current Site Status • OU 1 and OU 2 activities at the site have been completed • Activities such as the removal, solidification/stabilization, and placement/capping of contaminated soils and sludges into an on-site landfill have been done • groundwater recovery and air stripping tower is currently operating at the site