Related landfill-area story: Arsenic results expected next month: Some high concentrations found previously in soil near landfill, just east of I-93

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July 24, 2008

By Brian Messenger

A soil sample taken from a Chandler Road farm last year contained one of the highest concentrations of arsenic ever recorded in the state, according to Public Works Director Jack Petkus.

As town-hired engineers continue to determine the extent of the arsenic found in the ground near the former Ledge Road, at least 30 more soil samples will be tested on land owned by Andover farmer Robert Park Sr., according to Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Spokesman Joe Ferson.

Ferson said additional soil sampling has been conducted over the last two months on land west of the landfill.

"They have not completed that sample as of yet," said Ferson. "We expect a full report in mid-August."

Located roughly a half-mile east of Interstate 93, a soil sample taken on Park's more than 60-acre farm showed 4,500 milligrams of arsenic per kilogram of soil — the highest ever found in the state until recently, Petkus said.

Since that sample was taken, Petkus said a 16,000 milligram-of-arsenic-per-kilogram sample was detected near a landfill in Clinton.

Having recently completed a landfill recapping project, Petkus said Clinton could face expensive arsenic remediation.

"They thought they were done," said Petkus. "And then this (sample) pops up."

Arsenic can be naturally occurring, but Ferson said arsenic can also travel through the ground after being deposited at landfill sites. Soluble in water, arsenic attaches itself to soil particles once exposed to oxygen, he said.

While much of the ground sediment tested between Ledge Road and Interstate 93 is contaminated with arsenic, Petkus said the toxic chemical has not been detected within the town's drinking water supply, located west, on the other side of the highway from the landfill, at Haggetts Pond. Officials are working to make sure water moving from one side of the highway to the other does not bring arsenic with it.

"Is it migrating? We're not sure," said Petkus of the arsenic. "We're testing the water and we're not detecting it in a lot of samples, which is good."

The state Department of Environmental Protection has approved a plan restricting public access to some areas east of the highway — between Chandler, Ledge and Pettingil roads. This plan was approved by MassDEP just one week before Town Meeting appropriated $7.4 million to recap the 21-acre landfill.

This "Imminent Hazard" area is marked by no trespassing signs posted on both the eastern and western borders of Interstate 93, along Chandler, Greenwood and Ledge roads, and the Harold R. Rafton Reservation, which is owned by the Andover Village Improvement Society, Petkus said.

The presence of arsenic also has forced AVIS to close a small portion of the 226-acre Rafton Reservation, according to Conservation Director Bob Douglas.

"The high levels (of arsenic) are a concern," said Douglas. "It's something that everybody needs to be mindful of and we're trying our best to keep the public away from it."