Emergency Response in New England

Danversport Explosion, Danvers, Mass.

On Wed. Nov. 22, 2006 EPA responded to an early morning explosion at a chemical plant in Danvers, Mass. (about 15 miles northwest of Boston). EPA crews worked closely with responders from other federal, state and local agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, Mass. Dept. of Environmental Protection (Mass DEP), Mass. Dept. of Emergency Management, the Red Cross, Fire Departments and other Danvers Town personnel.

On Nov. 29, jurisdiction for clean up efforts was handed off to EPA. In turn, EPA is coordinating multiple efforts to remove debris, remove destroyed buildings, and conduct monitoring designed to identify if any contaminants are being released into the local environment. EPA's monitoring and sampling data will inform state and local decision makers about potential risks being posed to the local community and to responders.

Since taking over responsibility for containing and removing contaminants from the site, EPA has mobilized personnel and equipment to begin removing the chemical and hazardous waste materials remaining on site. EPA has developed an Ambient Air Sampling and Monitoring Plan to protect the health of residents in the vicinity of the site during the removal operations.

Area residents and other interested parties are encouraged to continue to check this web site, where EPA will regularly update information on the ongoing recovery activities, as well as posting reports from air monitoring.

For Site Status Summaries.

EPA Final Report on Danversport Explosion Response Activities, March 2007 (133 pp., 26.32 MB, about PDF)