Massachusetts Asbestos Site Cleanup

A 553-acre site containing an old railroad yard, fields and lagoons in Billerica, Massachusetts — a small town about 22 miles northwest of Boston — was listed as a Superfund cleanup site by the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) in 1984. In December 2008, three companies finally agreed to pay the EPA for the millions of dollars spent on the cleanup.

Transportation Authority, Two Corporations

BNZ Materials Inc., Boston and Maine Corp., and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) have signed an agreement with the EPA and the U.S. Justice Department that details their reimbursement to the EPA for past, present and future costs of the asbestos containment and removal from the site of:

* asbestos — the toxic, carcinogenic mineral with hundreds of uses
* PCBs — polychlorinated biphenyls, the highly dangerous, synthetic carcinogen widely used in industrial applications
* heavy metal contaminants — for example, mercury, lead, and silver
* other chemicals

Over $25 Million for Asbestos Cleanup

The estimated total cost of the cleanup is $23.53 million. Asbestos manufacturer Johns Manville, although not required to sign the agreement, will contribute to the cleanup with a $50,000 payment directly to Boston and Maine Corp. and BNZ Materials.

The MBTA’s commuter rail service runs from Boston on through the North Billerica station.

Asbestos Polluted River, Too

The cleanup location contains seven different sites within a given area. More than 61,000 people near within three miles of the nexus of the cleanup, in the surrounding Middlesex County. The city of Billerica also had to pay a $250,000 fine brought by the EPA and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection in 2007 for discharging pollutants into the Concord River, such as:

* ammonia nitrogen
* fecal coliform bacteria
* phosphorus

(Source: Biz Journals)

If you live near an industrial site that has asbestos, you may be at risk for developing mesothelioma cancer. Contact mesothelioma centers for more information and resources regarding asbestos exposure.