EASTERN AVE, RT 17
The O'Connor Company site occupies approximately twenty-three acres. The site is bordered by private properties and residences, woodlands, a small poultry farm, the west branch of Riggs Brook, and its associated wetlands. In the 1950s, the company began operating a salvage and electrical transformer recycling business at the site. Operations included stripping and recycling transformers containing polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-laden oil. In 1972, an oil spill at the site was found to have migrated towards Riggs Brook. Later that year, at the request of the State, the company began containing all transformer fluids found on the site in an aboveground storage tank to prevent future spills. When high levels of PCBs were detected in the soils during sampling by the State in 1976, the company was instructed to build two lagoons to control further migration of oils from the site. The upper lagoon, constructed with a concrete retaining wall and a discharge system, and a lower lagoon, constructed with a horizontal pipe discharge system and an earthen berm, were installed. In 1977 Maine DEP instructed the company to reclaim the lagoon areas. The company pumped water from the lagoons into several on-site storage tanks and excavated the lagoon sediments. These sediments were deposited into a low area and were covered by approximately 1 foot of clay soil. This created a barrier for natural surface water drainage from the site to Riggs Brook and resulted in the formation of a marsh behind the on-site barn. Approximately 50 people live within a 1/4-mile radius of the site. The nearest upgradient residence is approximately 300 feet west of the site. There are currently no downgradient residences as the land rises up east of Riggs Brook.
1,666 |
People living within a 1 mile radius |
$49,978 |
Average Income |
558 |
Occupied homes |
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