Many of the maps and tables on this website are from the Draft Remedial Investigation Report, OU-3, WR Grace Superfund Site, Acton, MA, by GeoTrans, Inc. August 30, 2002. The Remedial Investigation Report (“RI”) was produced by WR Grace’s consultant, GeoTrans, in order to comply with federal requirements as part of the EPA “Superfund” process.… Continue reading →
ACES Questions to ATSDR About Public Health
COMMENTS/QUESTIONS for the upcoming 2003/2004 ATSDR Public Health Assessment Introduction: ACES has two main lines of concern about past and present contamination from the WR Grace Superfund Site, one related to following up on previously identified health risk concerns, and the other to addressing newly identified potential health risks. Our concerns are detailed in Sections… Continue reading →
Background Information on Public Health Questions
Public Wells Contaminated In 1978 two Acton town wells were found to be contaminated with organic compounds. (Contamination was later found to have come from a nearby industrial site, now designated as the WR Grace Superfund Site.) These public wells, Assabet I and Assabet II, had been in operation since the early 1970’s, and in… Continue reading →
ATSDR Public Health Assessment – Status Update
On August 26, 2008 the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, (ATSDR), held a public meeting in Acton on their Public Comment Release, ATSDR Public Health Assessment of the WR Grace Superfund Site in Acton, MA. Appendix G of this report is an Assessment of Cancer Incidence in Acton and Concord Census Tract… Continue reading →
Two Health-Related Studies
Two separate public health evaluations related to the WR Grace Superfund Site in Acton, MA have recently been conducted. 1. Public Health Risk Assessment (PHRA) by WR Grace, under the USEPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) guidance: This quantitative risk assessment was undertaken to help determine the future level of cleanup required at the site. It… Continue reading →
Public Health Risk Assessment, EPA Superfund Cleanup
(See PHRA excerpts below) As part of the USEPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) agency Superfund Site process, WR Grace was required to conduct a Public Health Risk Assessment (PHRA) for the site. This quantitative risk assessment, conducted under EPA guidance, was undertaken to help determine the future level of cleanup required at the site. It… Continue reading →
Summary of EPA Record of Decision – September 30, 2005
Re: Cleanup at the WR Grace Superfund Site Acton, MA Thank you again, to everyone who made comments to EPA on the WR Grace Site during the summer of 2005. Based on comments submitted during the public comment period, EPA has modified their plan to now include some active treatment of targeted areas within the… Continue reading →
ACES June 2003 Public Statement
June 12, 2003 Thank you to everyone, (including WR Grace, EPA, DEP, the AWD, the Town of Acton, ACES members, & all the consultants) who have been involved all these years in making progress toward cleaning up contamination at the WR Grace Superfund (hazardous waste) site in Acton. Thank you to the Beacon, and the… Continue reading →
WR Grace Superfund Site in Acton, Public Meeting, June 12, 2003 (Meeting Summary by ACES)
*For Updates/Public Meeting Notifications join the EPA site mailing list, Contact: Sarah White, EPA Community Involvement Coordinator (617-918-1026, White.Sarah@epamail.epa.gov)* It has been almost 25 years since contamination from the WR Grace Industrial Site was found in two Acton public drinking water wells, and 20 years since this site was included on the federal “National Priority… Continue reading →
The WR Grace Superfund Site, Acton, MA – A Chronology of the Site (1951-2010)
(Information sources include: Timeline Poster by GeoTrans, Inc.; Initial Site Characterization Report, OU-3, August 1998; Draft Phase II Remedial Investigation Report, August 2002; EPA Third Five Year Review Report, September 2009; and other WR Grace Site documents.) 1951 – First battery separator plant at site, built by Dewey & Almy Chemical Company. 1954 – WR… Continue reading →