The Industrial Box & Lumber site operated as a lumber mill from the late 1800s until it was abandoned in 1998. The site is located on a mapped sand and gravel aquifer on the banks of the Ossipee River in Parsonsfield, Maine. A town consortium uses the aquifer as a public water supply and private water supply wells are located directly north of the facility.
Campbell Environmental Group conducted a Phase II ESA and took an inventory of waste stored at the site. Based on previous investigations, contaminants of concern included: pentachlorophenol, methyl phenol, toluene, xylenes, methyl tertiary butyl ether, benzoic acid, bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, 1,1-dichloroethane, and 1,2-dichloroethane. Sources of these compounds were suspected to have originated from the wood treatment dipping basin, underground storage tanks, a vehicle maintenance garage, an unlicensed landfill, an area of surface soil dumping, and through daily equipment maintenance practices.
The investigation was performed to supplement existing information and fill in data gaps for the purpose of determining if the site is a threat to human health or the environment and to document any environmental issues that may affect future development. CEG completed the installation of two deep monitoring wells down gradient of the dipping basin for the purpose of investigating soil and groundwater for dense non-aqueous phase liquid compounds such as pentachlorophenol. Nineteen test pits were excavated throughout the site to evaluate soil quality.
An attempt to install small diameter monitoring wells using direct push methods was limited due to the density of the native soils. Only one well was completed using these methods. Groundwater samples were collected from the vicinity's private water supply wells and existing monitoring wells. Select soil and groundwater samples were analyzed for one or more of the following: volatile organic compounds, semi-volatile organic compounds, gasoline range organics, and diesel range organics. An asbestos inspection was also conducted for identifying asbestos prior to the demolition of the onsite buildings.
