Air Monitoring During PCB Sediment Cleanup of Acushnet River in Wood / Slocum Street Area
No airborne PCB levels were detected that posed a health risk to cleanup workers or area residents during the five months of excavation work in the Acushnet River. The cleanup of PCB contaminated sediment in the Wood / Slocum Street and Sawyer Street areas is complete, resulting in 6.5 acres cleaned to EPA’s standards.
From 11/18/03 to 2/10/03: results from 51 individual PCB air samples (listed below) ranged from 0.2 to 100 ng/m3 (nanograms per cubic meter of air - a nanogram is one-billionth of a gram).
Airborne PCB concentrations below 1,000 ng/m3 for adult workers are considered safe by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
In addition to this work-place standard, EPA tracks the amount of measured airborne PCBs over time and compares these amounts to an action level. Because the airborne PCB levels are extremely low, even the highest results fall far below the level requiring any corrective action.
| Sample Location | Date | Airborne PCB Levels* |
|---|---|---|
| New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: North |
03/19/03
|
15 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: East |
03/19/03
|
24 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: West |
03/19/03
|
35 ng/m3
|
| * Airborne PCB concentration (in billionths of grams per cubic meter of air, or ng/m3) | ||
| Sample Location | Date | Airborne PCB Levels |
| Acushnet - Main Street |
02/25/03
|
0.2 ng/m3
|
| Acushnet - River View Park |
02/25/03
|
1 ng/m3
|
| Acushnet - River Street Parking Lot |
02/25/03
|
2 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Former Lumberyard |
02/25/03
|
0.3 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Near Wood Street Bridge |
02/25/03
|
1 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: North |
02/25/03
|
1 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: East |
02/25/03
|
100 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: West |
02/25/03
|
1 ng/m3
|
| Sample Location | Date | Airborne PCB Levels |
| Acushnet - Main Street |
02/10/03
|
3 ng/m3
|
| Acushnet - River View Park |
02/10/03
|
5 ng/m3
|
| Acushnet - River Street Parking Lot |
02/10/03
|
6 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Former Lumberyard |
02/10/03
|
5 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Near Wood Street Bridge |
02/10/03
|
12 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: North |
02/10/03
|
14 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: East |
02/10/03
|
30 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: West |
02/10/03
|
4 ng/m3
|
| Sample Location | Date | Airborne PCB Levels |
| Acushnet - Main Street |
01/23/03
|
0.2 ng/m3
|
| Acushnet - River View Park |
01/23/03
|
3 ng/m3
|
| Acushnet - River Street Parking Lot |
01/23/03
|
13 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Former Lumberyard |
01/23/03
|
0.3 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Near Wood Street Bridge |
01/23/03
|
3 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: North |
01/23/03
|
0.3 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: East |
01/23/03
|
46 ng/m3
|
| Sample Location | Date | Airborne PCB Levels |
| Acushnet - Main Street |
01/08/03
|
7 ng/m3
|
| Acushnet - River View Park |
01/08/03
|
21 ng/m3
|
| Acushnet - River Street Parking Lot |
01/08/03
|
16 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Former Lumberyard |
01/08/03
|
8 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Near Wood Street Bridge |
01/08/03
|
9 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: North |
01/08/03
|
8 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: East |
01/08/03
|
23 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Sawyer Street Cell 1: West |
01/08/03
|
3 ng/m3
|
| Sample Location | Date | Airborne PCB Levels |
| Acushnet - Main Street |
12/30/02
|
1 ng/m3
|
| Acushnet - River View Park |
12/30/02
|
1 ng/m3
|
| Acushnet - River Street Parking Lot |
12/30/02
|
2 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Former Lumberyard |
12/30/02
|
2 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Wood Street Bridge |
12/30/02
|
2 ng/m3
|
| Sample Location | Date | Airborne PCB Levels |
| Acushnet - Main Street |
12/12/02
|
1 ng/m3
|
| Acushnet - River View Park |
12/12/02
|
3 ng/m3
|
| Acushnet - River Street Parking Lot |
12/12/02
|
5 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Former Lumberyard |
12/12/02
|
2 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Wood Street Bridge |
12/12/02
|
6 ng/m3
|
| Sample Location | Date | Airborne PCB Levels |
| Acushnet - Main Street |
11/26/02
|
1 ng/m3
|
| Acushnet - River View Park |
11/26/02
|
2 ng/m3
|
| Acushnet - River Street Parking Lot |
11/26/02
|
3 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Former Lumberyard |
11/26/02
|
1 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Wood Street Bridge |
11/26/02
|
6 ng/m3
|
| Sample Location | Date | Airborne PCB Levels |
| Acushnet - Main Street |
11/18/02
|
1 ng/m3
|
| Acushnet - River View Park |
11/18/02
|
3 ng/m3
|
| Acushnet - River Street Parking Lot |
11/18/02
|
5 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Former Lumberyard |
11/18/02
|
1 ng/m3
|
| New Bedford - Wood Street Bridge |
11/18/02
|
4 ng/m3
|
| * Airborne PCB concentration (in billionths of grams per cubic meter of air, or ng/m3) | ||