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WELLESLEY,
Mass. -- Wellesley College has begun site preparation work
in anticipation of its upcoming cleanup of the site of the
former Henry Wood's Sons paint factory on the western edge
of campus. Beginning this week, eight-foot high fencing
will be installed around the perimeter of the project area
as a safety measure. An approximately 1/3 mile portion of
the path around Lake Waban will remain closed until the
project is completed in the summer of 2002.
Once
the fencing has been erected and the site is secure, around
April 30, the college will begin to remove trees and other
vegetation from 30 on-campus acres south of Route 135 and
east of Paintshop Pond. The land must be cleared in order
to allow work crews access to the contaminated areas and
to the clean soils that will be used to contain the contaminated
soil.
The
former paint factory site is located on the western border
of the campus, south of Route 135. It was acquired by the
College in 1932 and maintained as open space. In the mid-1970s,
with the advent of regulatory policies and greater environmental
awareness, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) notified the College that it had identified
soils contaminated with paint pigments on and around the
site of the former factory (which began operations in 1848
and continued for nearly 80 years). Since then, the College
and DEP have been working together on site investigation
and remediation actions, which have included the analysis
of more than 4,000 soil, sediment, surface water and groundwater
samples, and removal of more than 4,000 tons of contaminated
material.
The
College's cleanup sequence is expected to involve:
·
Excavating an estimated 136,000 cubic yards of contaminated
soils and sediment from the former factory site, sediment
from Paintshop Pond and Upper Waban Brook and peat from
the surrounding wetlands.
·
Treating about 20,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil,
using chemical reducing agents.
·
Creating an area of clean soil (referred to as a "clean
pad") in the existing northern wetland, at an elevation
above the water table.
·
Consolidating the excavated soils and sediment on top of
the clean pad; and
·
Capping the consolidated soils and sediments within a permanent
protective cover called an "engineered barrier," consisting
of several layers of clean soil and synthetic materials.
The
project now is project to take approximately 18 months to
complete. Throughout the site preparation and cleanup, the
College and its contractors will install fencing and post
signs around the work site, install air monitoring equipment,
employ dust suppression methods and ensure that cleanup
activities are fully protective of the health of workers
and of the campus and area communities.
In
addition to eliminating the contamination problem - and
risks to human health and the environment - the cleanup
will result in the restoration and re-vegetation of the
southern wetland in its current location. Portions of the
northern wetland will be restored and re-vegetated in its
current location and new wetlands, larger than the existing
northern wetland, will be created. New athletic fields also
will be constructed. At the completion of the cleanup, the
College will install monitoring wells to ensure groundwater
quality. In addition, the existing walking path around Lake
Waban (portions of which will be closed during the cleanup
period) will be restored.
The
College has undertaken a number of public outreach efforts
as part of the ongoing cleanup, including hosting community
and campus information sessions and preparing a series of
fact sheets. Copies of the fact sheets and additional project
information are available from the college by calling 781-283-2788
or by visiting the Paintshop
Pond web site (click here).
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