Cleanup Begins at Maine Site

Within the next several days, the Environmental Protection Agency, in coordination with the Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection, will begin cleanup of the Erb Junkyard Site in Perry, Maine. The two-acre site is a former junkyard and is contaminated with PCBs and lead. The cost of the cleanup is estimated to be $200,000.

The owner of the Erb site operated a junkyard on the property for about 20 years, until his death in 2003. Following his death, the Town of Perry removed debris from the site and in 2005 the DEP sampled the surface soil. Additional sampling by EPA in June 2006 confirmed the presence of PCBs and lead in the soil.

This week, EPA and DEP staff and contractors will begin work at the site. DEP will have a mobile lab on site and will be analyzing additional soil samples and generate maps of the site to further delineate where the PCB and lead contamination is present. EPA contractors will excavate the contaminated soil and stockpiled on-site in preparation for shipping it off site for disposal at a permitted facility.

Additional soil samples will be taken to confirm that all of the contaminated soil is removed. During the excavation activities, the soil will be wetted down to minimized fugitive dust and EPA will monitor the air during the removal activities to protect surrounding residents. EPA will also sample containers, tanks and cylinders on the site as well as a pit located on the site which is filled with unidentified liquids.