BREWER, Maine — The Environmental Protection Agency has found more than it expected while looking for lead-contaminated soils at a cleanup site along the Penobscot River that once was home to an auto salvage shop and a gas station, the site coordinator said.
The EPA began its cleanup of the Rolnick site, 4 riverfront acres that include the JR Redemption Center, in mid-July. Part of the process is stabilizing the 900 feet of shoreline, said Dan Wainberg of the EPA’s Office of Site Remediation and Restoration.
“We’re coming across more [contaminated soils] than we expected,” he said Monday, standing along the river next to the site. “We’ve run across more of the battery [casing] sites than expected.”
Battery casings, which presumably were left by the former auto salvage business, have left high levels of lead and other contaminants in the soil, he said, and must be removed entirely.
In addition to batteries, cribwork constructed with wood timbers and car chassis have been dug out of the riverbank.
The EPA deemed the Brewer cleanup an emergency “because there was highly contaminated soils right at the surface” that posed a risk to public health, and because, “as the riverbank is eroded, there is potential for it going into the river,” Wainberg said.
Once a battery casing or other item is found, Tracy Weston Kelly, Maine Department of Environmental Protection project manager, is in charge of running an X-ray fluorescence, or XRF, test on the soils around it.
“That test determines if they need to dig further,” she said. “It gives the concentration level.”
Because the EPA has found more contaminated areas at the Brewer site than expected, which means there is more contaminated soils that need mitigation, the project’s time and cost estimates have increased, Wainberg said.
The project, originally expected to be completed at the end of this month or early October, now is scheduled to be done in November. And the cost is “$1.75 million, which is a little more than what I expected,” Wainberg said.
The funds fall under the federal Superfund program, but the site is not deemed a Superfund site because of the relatively short cleanup time frame and costs are below $2 million, he said.
The highly contaminated soils are being consolidated on-site. They originally were to be shipped to New Jersey for treatment and then interment. With the large amount uncovered, “we’re still evaluating that,” Wainberg said.
If it’s more cost-effective, it is possible that the soils could be treated at the site, which basically means they would be mixed with cement or other binding material to make them more stable, he said.
So far, one 1,500-ton load of low-level contaminated soil has been shipped to the Pine Tree Landfill in Hampden.
To ensure the safety of those living near the site, the EPA also is monitoring the air throughout the project area to ensure that dust stirred up at the work site doesn’t cause health issues.
“All the levels are way, way below any action levels,” Wainberg said.
When dealing with the contaminated soils directly, work crews from Guardian Environmental Service, based in Delaware, must wear protective clothing including white Tyvek coveralls, boots and gloves, he said.
In addition to the current cleanup effort, the Maine DEP in 2006 cleaned soils contaminated with petroleum in the northeast corner of the property where the gasoline station was located.
The area that is being cleaned is fenced off, which allows JR Redemption to continue to operate.
City Manager Steve Bost said he’s very impressed with the work the EPA is doing.
“We’re very pleased with the progress that is being made on the site,” he said. “This parcel is very strategic to both the aesthetic and environmental aspects of the waterfront.”
Large rocks and smaller stones eventually will line the riverbank where the excavation work is being done to make it look natural, Wainberg said.