ANDOVER
Toxin traces may not stall apartments                     10/26/00
Contamination does not warrant cleanup of a proposed apartment complex site, say developers
By Ethan Forman
Eagle-Tribune Writer

   ANDOVER — Minor traces of arsenic and an industrial solvent have been found at the 5-acre site of the proposed Powder Mill Square apartment complex and medical office building.
   Officials for the project said the find does not pose a health risk. The readings are so slight that they will not even trigger a cleanup under state law, they said. The discovery will not stop development at the site, a consultant for the development said.
   Meanwhile, town Health Director Everett F. Penney Jr., said a health risk study must be done before it can be determined whether a cleanup would be necessary.
   Earlier this year, developers won approval for Powder Mill Square, a 72-unit apartment complex and medical office building at North Main (Route 28) and Stevens streets. The site is located along the Shawsheen River, across from the post office.
   "Although additional work will he required to address (state) requirements, my professional opinion is that none of the conditions that we have observed should preclude the development of the property," William A. Simmons, a licensed site professional with Simmons Environmental Services Inc., of Salisbury, wrote in his report.
   "Even though this is a prior industrial site where the DASA (Corp.) building was, the remnants of substances that are showing up in the report to me don't even come close to having this site considered a classic Brownfield site. It's basically got traces," said Robert W. Lavoie, the attorney for property owner Wood Ayer Limited Partnership and trustee Bertram Paley, and developers, North Point Realty Development Corp. of North Andover.
   DASA used to make telephone and electronics equipment, and the site where its building once stood is now a vacant lot along the Shawsheen River. A vacant former doctor's office also occupies the site.
   In March, workers performed a soil survey and smelled petroleum.Developers called Mr. Simmons' company, and he found traces of arsenic and a chemical called 1,1- dichloroethylene slightly above state maximum standards.
   Arsenic in the soil was found at 34 parts per million, just above the maximum standard of 30 parts per million. That level would not trigger a cleanup, according to Mr. Simmons' report.
   In a groundwater well, Mr. Simmons found traces of dichloroethylene, a volatile organic compound, at 8 parts per billion. Volatile organic compounds can dissolve in water and become gaseous, pass through the soil, and can become a concern to buildings nearby, according to the report.
   Dichloroethylene is rarely found alone as a contaminant, and is usually the result of the breakdown of solvents used in degreasing or cleaning activities, Mr. Simmons said.
   The chemical, used in the production of plastics, is a possible human carcinogen, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, but studies on workers who breath it do not show increased cancer rates, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Web site.
   "This substance has a 1-part-per- billion reporting requirement. We are at 8, and it will be reported, and be dealt with accordingly," Mr. Lavoie said.
   "The remediation levels are 50,000 parts per billion," said Louis P. Minicucci Jr., one of the development's partners. "We certainly are going to do whatever is required by the state." For a former industrial site, contamination levels are "surprisingly low," he said.
   Developers said contamination at the site could be blamed on industrial activity at the former Marland Mills complex nearby. Today, this mill building across the Shawsheen River is an assisted living facility.
   Mr. Simpson said a former spill of chlorinated solvents at Marland Mills may have passed under the river bed to Powder Mill Square. The developers also suspect trace gasoline contamination may have come from a Sunoco gas station a 200 N. Main St.
   Some area residents are opposed to the Powder Mill Square development. Part of its design includes a plan to flood the ground floor of a parking garage if the Shawsheen River overtlows its banks.
   Residents fear that this flood-storage plan would put people in harm's way because the garage could fill with sewage. The Conservation Commission's and Planning Board's unanimous approval of the project is under appeal.
   Ethan Forman covers environmental issues for The EagleTribune. He can be reached at (978) 946-2232, by mail at Box 100, Lawrence, MA 01842, or by e-mail at eforman@eagletribune.com.

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