News Releases from Region 01

EPA Agreement Clears Way for Removal of Hazards at Taunton, Massachusetts Site

Taunton, Mass. – The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that it has reached an agreement with two entities which will undertake site cleanup activity at the Nu-Brite Chemical Company, Inc. site in Taunton.

Under the proposed Administrative Order on Consent (AOC), two companies have agreed to perform a removal action at the Nu-Brite Chemical site. Under the agreement, AkzoNobel Coatings, Inc., formerly known as the Nu-Brite Chemical Company, Inc., will perform cleanup activities under EPA oversight, and 10 First Street, LLC, the current site owner, will provide access to the property and record institutional controls on the property. AkzoNobel Coatings, Inc. has agreed to pay for the work as described in the AOC, as well as repaying all of EPA's past costs, interim costs, and future costs. This agreement represents a 100% cost recovery for U.S. taxpayers.

The agreement will ensure that high levels of hazardous substances, primarily consisting of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in surface soils, will be excavated in areas where concentrations of PCBs exceed 100 parts per million (ppm). The excavated soils will be transported to a licensed off-site disposal facility, and the property will have a health-protective cap constructed to ensure people are not exposed to any trace levels of PCB contamination. Finally, an "Activity and Use Limitation" will establish use restrictions to the property deed and protect the integrity of the cap.

"EPA is very pleased that this agreement will result in a needed site cleanup, and that the costs will be incurred by the responsible parties, saving taxpayers from footing the bill," said EPA New England Acting Regional Administrator Deborah Szaro.

To learn more about EPA's site cleanups in New England, see https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/cleanups/cleaning-new-england .