Concord Superfund Site Poses Potential Threat to Acton Drinking Water

CONCORD, MA—The former site of weapons manufacturer Starmet, located at 2229 Main St. in Concord, could pose a threat to Acton's drinking water.

According to Pam Rockwell, the chairwoman of the 2229 Main St. Oversight Committee, the groundwater below the site is contaminated with 1,4-dioxane, which has a potential to make its way under the Assabet River and into Acton's well fields. Rockwell told Patch that while officials were aware of the contamination before work on the project had started, improving detection methods revealed that the chemical was more prevalent than originally believed.

Rockwell told Patch that the presence of dioxane was not unique to superfund sites.

"It's like saying we found alcohol in drinking water," Rockwell told Patch."We are starting to find it in water supplies all over the country, and it's not a terrible company that did this."

The contamination will not affect Concord's drinking water, according to Rockwell.

Dioxane is found in common household products such as shampoos, health and beauty aids as well as pharmaceuticals. According to the Department of Environmental Protection, dioxane is classified as a Group B2 probable human carcinogen, and is an endocrine disruptor.

The Department of Defense, Department of Energy, as well as the Textron and Whittaker corporation are working to develop a remedy for the problem, which will involve pumping the water out out of a separate production test well, and cleaning out the dioxane, according to Rockwell.

The Concord Journal, who was first to report the story, reports that a contract to remove the dioxane is being negotiated, and could be finalized at any time according to the site's EPA Project Manager Melissa Taylor.

Rockwell added that the additional discovery of dioxane is the biggest environmental concern regarding the site, but that she was pleased with the EPA's action to address the problem.

"I applaud the EPA for taking a quick and decisive step to get this problem corrected," Rockwell told Patch.

Taylor could not immediately be reached for comment on this story.