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Site Type: Site Awaiting NPL Decision (SAND) 
FREQUENCY SOURCES INC
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map of site |
| CHELMSFORD, Massachusetts |
| MIDDLESEX County |
| Street Address: | 16 MAPLE ROAD
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| Zip Code: | 01824 |
Congressional
District(s): |
05 |
| EPA ID #: | MAD019543677 |
| Site ID #: | 0102115 |
| Site Alias: | |
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Description
The Frequency Sources, Inc. (FSI) property is located at 16 Maple Road in Chelmsford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The 6.85-acre property is bounded to the north by residential houses and wooded land, to the east by a church, to the south by a wetland area and Heart Pond, and to the west by inactive railroad tracks. The property includes a two-story building consisting of electronic components manufacturing/assembly sections and offices, a paved parking lot located east of the building, and a wetland located on the southern portion of the property. Other property features include a 10,000-gallon aboveground storage tank (AST) containing liquid nitrogen located at the southwest corner of the building; an active underground septic system and three abandoned underground septic systems; and a chemical storage area located at the northwest corner of the building.
According to the Chelmsford Tax Assessor’s Office, the building was built in the early 1960s and was used for an unknown time as a government wool materials testing laboratory. Tech Con purchased the property from private individuals in 1964. In March 1974, FSI purchased the property from Tech Con. No further information regarding the operations of Tech Con or the government testing laboratory were available in the file. From 1972 to the present, the property has been occupied by FSI, a subsidiary of the Loral Corporation. The primary operations at FSI are the fabrication and assembly of electronic components into custom built military and commercial products. The products are inspected, tested, and shipped to military and commercial clients. Additional areas of operations at FSI include a paint room and machine shop; soldering; laser areas; degreasing areas; inspection and storage areas; shipping and receiving areas; and maintenance and utility areas. According to FSI personnel, one 55-gallon drum of trichloroethylene (TCE) was generated in 1994. In March 1994, FSI ceased using TCE and presently uses dichloroethane (DCA). Approximately 15 gallons of waste oil are generated a year. The waste oil and DCA are stored in 55-gallon drums in the chemical storage area along the exterior of the northwest corner of the building prior to off-site disposal.
Previous investigations at the FSI property include a 1981 soil investigation conducted by a private contractor, a 1982 Geohydrologic Investigation Report completed by a private contractor, a 1985 Groundwater Facility Inspection by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Quality Engineering (MA DEQE), a 1987 Wastewater Treatment and Disposal Study by a private contractor, a 1987 Operation and Maintenance Inspection performed by MA DEQE, a 1988 Phase I investigation conducted by a private contractor, a 1991 Site Investigation Final Report performed by a private contractor, a 1991 Preliminary Assessment completed by a contractor for EPA, a 1995 Site Inspection completed by another EPA contractor, and subsequent Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP) remedial investigations. The FSI property is an MCP Tier II site.
Originally, wastewater generated at the FSI facility was disposed of in three leaching areas. After 1982, MA DEQE required that FSI cease use of the leaching areas, and a waste water treatment system was constructed for that purpose. In 1987, analytical results indicated that exceeded permitted levels of trichloroethylene (TCE), phenols, isopropyl alcohol, and acetone. In 1988, use of the waste water treatment system ended when electronic semiconductor manufacture at the FSI facility was moved to another FSI facility. Certain leaching areas remained in use for sanitary wastes and received treated wastewater from the wastewater treatment system. The result of the waste disposal practices at FSI is soil contamination with chlorinated VOCs (in particular, TCE and its breakdown products), phenols, and inorganic elements. The uncontrolled source at the FSI property led to groundwater VOC-contamination in the overburden and bedrock portions of the aquifer. Groundwater remediation efforts continue at the FSI property, under the supervision of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MA DEP, formerly MA DEQE).
Groundwater beneath the property occurs at depths of 8 to 17 feet. An estimated 43,105 persons rely on groundwater for drinking water within 4-radial miles of the FSI property. Numerous complaints from the Byam School, located approximately 800 feet northwest of FSI, prompted the Chelmsford Water District to collect drinking water samples from the school. Analytical results of the drinking water samples indicated copper, iron, and TCE. Groundwater analytical results for samples collected from monitoring wells on the FSI property have indicated groundwater contamination with chlorinated VOCs (including TCE), arsenic, cadmium, silver, chromium, and phenol.
Runoff from the property enters surface water at an unnamed pond 200 feet north of the FSI property, and at wetlands located 700 south of the FSI property. Both water bodies lead to River Meadow Brook, the Concord river, and the Merrimack River. There are no surface water intakes located within 15-downstream miles of the FSI property. A number of recreational fisheries, an anadromous fish migratory pathway, and wetlands are located downstream of the FSI property. Surface water and sediment samples document that releases of chlorinated VOCs have occurred to surface water downstream of the FSI property.
The FSI property was reportedly regularly occupied by 170 workers and access to the property is unrestricted. An estimated 3,395 persons live within 1-radial mile of the FSI property. A day-care center is located 500 feet northeast of the FSI property and an elementary school is located 800 feet northwest of the FSI property. Contamination has been documented in shallow soil samples collected from the sources at the FSI property, but current conditions at the property are not documented in available files.
The nearest individuals to the FSI property are on-site workers. An estimated 42,245 persons live within 4-radial miles of the FSI property. No qualitative air sampling has been performed at the FSI property. Air samples collected at the nearby Byam School had negative results for TCE.
Current Status
Photos
Links to Other Information
Public Record Locations
EPA New England Records Center, One Congress Street, Boston, MA 02114 (617) 918-1440
Contacts
| Nancy Smith |
| Site Assessment Manager |
| Address: | One Congress Street, Suite 1100 (HBS)
Boston, MA 02114-2023 |
| Phone #: | 617-918-1436 |
| E-Mail Address: | smith.nancya@epa.gov |
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