Starmet/Nuclear Metals Superfund site cleanup

under planning

Under a consent decree with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, four potentially responsible parties—U.S. Army, U.S. Dept. of Energy, Textron Inc. and Whittaker Corp.—plan to carry out a cleanup of the Starmet/Nuclear Metals Superfund site in Concord. The 46-acre site is contaminated with depleted uranium, copper and nitric acid, which were disposed into an unlined holding basin at the site from 1958 to 1985. The work includes excavation and off-site disposal of 82,500 cu yd of contaminated soil, sediment and debris; stabilization of depleted uranium contaminated soil; extraction and treatment of groundwater for volatile organic compounds and 1,4-dioxane; treatment of depleted uranium and natural uranium in groundwater; and long-term monitoring and land use controls. Site surveys will start in 2020, with cleanup expected to begin in 2024. The estimated cleanup cost is $125 million.