[DEHC] Neponset River Dredge Spoils Sampling Project - Public Meeting Press Release

[Pyott, Christopher (DEP)]

Good Morning - Could you please list this press on your website.

Thanks,

CJP



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:					CONTACT:
November 30, 2007
Joe Ferson 617-654-6523 


Surface Soils to be Tested for PCBs along the Neponset River Banks
in Boston and Milton, in Review of a 1960s-era Dredging Project

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and
the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) will hold a public
meeting on Monday, December 10, 2007, to unveil details of a program to
sample surface soils along the banks of the Neponset River in Boston and
Milton. 

The presentation will be held in Menino Hall at the Hyde Park Library,
35 Hyde Park Avenue, Hyde Park from 6-7:30 p.m. MassDEP and DCR invite
the public to attend in order to ask questions or obtain specific
details on the program.

The sampling is being conducted to assess the quality of soils that were
dredged from the Neponset River in the 1960's and deposited along the
shoreline. Evidence of PCB contamination of the sediments in the
Neponset River has been collected over the last several years through a
study of the river completed by the United States Geological Survey
(USGS), in cooperation with the Riverways Program of the Massachusetts
Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA).

While there is concern that historical sediments dredged and placed on
the riverbanks in the 1960s may also have contained PCBs, additional
sampling of soils is being conducted to determine the specific
composition of the soils that were dredged and deposited along the
banks.

The sampling is set to begin in December. Project details include:  

*	A hand tool will be used to sample the surface soils.  

*	Surface soils will be collected from locations along walking
paths/bike paths throughout eight separate areas that extend from the
Walter Baker Chocolate Factory Dam in Dorchester to the Neponset Valley
Parkway in Readville. The majority of the land to be sampled is DCR
property, with a small percentage on private property.


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*	This subsurface investigation is being done specifically to
determine the extent of PCB contamination that may be present. PCBs
(polychlorinated biphenyls) were commonly used in transformers and other
electric components beginning in the 1930s until they were banned in the
late 1970s. PCBs are a known carcinogen and typically do not degrade
over time. 

MassDEP is responsible for ensuring clean air and water, safe management
and recycling of solid and hazardous wastes, timely cleanup of hazardous
waste sites and spills, and the preservation of wetlands and coastal
resources. 

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