United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Protecting People and the Environment

Shpack Landfill (State of Massachusetts)

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1.0 Site Identification

Type of Site: Complex Decommissioning Site
Location: Norton,MA
License No.:
Docket No.:
License Status: Unknown
Project Manager: Kim Conway (NRC Decommissioning Contact)

2.0 Site Status Summary

Former privately owned 8 acre domestic and industrial land fill, now owned by town of Norton, MA and the Attleboro Landfill, Inc. The Shpack Landfill is located on an 9-acre parcel along the Norton-Attleboro line, about 7 acres of which is in the town of Norton and 2 acres in the city of Attleboro. The Shpack Landfill directly borders the 55 acre Attleboro Landfill facility.

The Shpack Landfill accepted industrial and domestic waste from 1946 to 1965, which included inorganic and organic chemicals, as well as radioactive waste. The government began investigating the site in 1978, after a resident detected elevated levels of radioactivity. The governments investigation identified that the groundwater contains volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including vinyl chloride and trichloroethylene (TCE), as well as heavy metals including chromium, barium, copper, nickel, manganese, arsenic, cadmium, and lead. Sediments on the edge of the swamp and soils contain radionuclides including radium and uranium. Surface water in the swampy area is contaminated with radium and alpha and beta particles, as well as organic compounds. The site is fenced to limit access. The Site was designated for remedial action under FUSRAP in 1981 and the Site was listed on the National Priorities List (NPL) on June 10, 1986. The EPA signed an Administrative Order by Consent in September 1990 with a group of settling parties for the performance of a remedial investigation and feasibility study (RI/FS). The EPA concluded the RI/FS and signed the ROD in September 2004. The Army Corps of Engineers will cleanup the radiological waste found onsite, which will be followed by an EPA - guided cleanup of the non-radiological contaminants. The radioactive waste at the landfill is believed to have come from Metals and Controls Inc., which is now Texas Instruments, and the local jewelry industry. Cleanup to dose based standard of < 10 mrem/yr TEDE.

3.0 Major Technical or Regulatory Issues

4.0 Estimated Date For Closure

Page Last Reviewed/Updated Thursday, March 29, 2012