Source: http://www.telegram.com, August 12, 2016
By: Brian Lee
A landfill consultant to Southbridge suggests three Charlton businesses and a vacant residential property are possible sources of toxins found in residential wells in a nearby neighborhood in Charlton.
Tighe & Bond’s comprehensive status report Monday to the state Department of Environmental Protection suggested InCom Inc. at 294 Southbridge Road, Millennium Power at 10 Sherwood Lane, North American Tool and Machine Corp. at 278 Southbridge Road, and a property on H. Foote Road (no street address; parcel 62-a-15 on the town assessors’ map) could be sources of 1,4 dioxane, one of about six volatile organic compounds found in private wells in Charlton, according to DEP spokesman Joseph Ferson.
In October, Casella announced 1,4-dioxane was detected in 21 private wells in Charlton, with eight exceeding the levels allowed by state drinking water regulations.
The DEP named landfill manager Casella Waste Systems the potential responsible party for the contamination.
The report by Tighe & Bond indicates the landfill isn’t the source of the contamination, although it says that could not be proved with certainty.
Tighe & Bond issued the update as part of progress reports on an initial response action to the DEP.
Southbridge, which owns the landfill on Barefoot Road, and Casella now want to investigate the other potential sources.
Southbridge Director of Inspectional Services Andrew R. Pelletier said in an interview there are unidentified drums dumped all over the undeveloped H. Foote Road property in Charlton, while the three businesses could be using the five volatile organic compounds found in the Charlton wells.
“We are not in any way, shape or form saying it’s from those sites; we just want to investigate whether it could be,” Mr. Pelletier said.
The next step, he said, is to seek permission from either the property owners or the town of Charlton to get on the properties, and perhaps test the soils. But Mr. Pelletier doesn’t have any authority in Charlton.
Charlton Board of Health Director James W. Philbrook didn’t return a phone message left Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Charlton health board consultant Gary E. Magnuson of CMG Environmental told the board that Southbridge and Casella announced that they will not install municipal water lines in the Charlton neighborhood.
But Mr. Pelletier said he “cannot imagine that the town of Southbridge wouldn’t be willing to work with Charlton and whoever to supply water,” although he wouldn’t be making the final decision.
“I can’t enter into contracts or even consider contracts,” Mr. Pelletier said. “The funding source would be a town manager call. (But) I think we’re the best chance to have clean water around here. We’ve got award-winning water in this town. We have a line going up Route 169 (already, for an municipal agreement with Charlton). I can’t imagine we’d deny Charlton our water. It really just comes down to who the town manager and Charlton decide should fund it.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Pelletier said he is confident he can “stand behind the evidence we found,” given that groundwater is flowing in the opposite direction of the Charlton homes, which are 80 feet above and northeast of the landfill.
Mr. Pelletier said he’s asked all the involved engineers – Tighe & Bond and Casella consultant Sanborn Head – if anything’s been missed that could point to the landfill.
In fact, Mr. Pelletier said he charged Tighe & Bond “to approach this thing like we’re guilty, and prove that it is the landfill.”
Jeffrey Arps of Tighe & Bond returned six months later and said, “I’ve got nothing,” according to Mr. Pelletier.
John Jordan, whose home on H. Foote Road had detections of 1,4-dioxane in 2012 and 2014, said he was angered by Mr. Arps’ presentation Monday to the Southbridge Town Council, but has since reviewed the Tighe & Bond report. Because Mr. Jordan isn’t a scientist, he said, he can’t go toe to toe and refute the information. But he noted that the contaminants in the residential wells were found in various wells at the landfill, although not all together, and there were high concentrations of 1,4-dioxane at the landfill.
“I don’t think it (the report) rules out the landfill 100 percent,” he said.
Mr. Jordan said he doesn’t want to come across as if he’s suggesting the information is “a big lie.” He said time will tell with respect to the investigation of the other potential sources.
Casella officials have spoken about the ubiquitous nature of 1,4-dioxane, which is used as a solvent in many household products such as laundry detergent. The federal Environmental Protection Agency classifies it as a probable human carcinogen and says that short-term inhalation exposure to high levels of it causes vertigo, drowsiness, headache and irritated eyes, nose, throat and lungs in humans. It may also irritate skin. It is also found in airplane de-icers. The municipal airport is next to the landfill.