Text Box: New England Environmental, Inc. (NEE) was hired to conduct an environmental site assessment (ESA) of this public housing residential property in Holyoke, MA to evaluate the potential of a release of oil or hazardous materials (OHM). Historic uses of the Site included an auto garage, gasoline underground storage tank (UST), and former heating oil-fired boilers with additional USTs.

A detailed history of the property with respect to OHM was developed through the inspection of buildings and grounds,  review of public records, and interviews, including the completion of a Transaction Screen Questionnaire. This Level 1 ESA was conducted in conformance with the ASTM Standard Practice E1527-00 Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment Process.

NEE inspected areas where oil and hazardous materials were stored, utility rooms, and all common areas of the facility.

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) was used to locate historic underground storage tanks and current utilities prior to drilling.

Limited Subsurface Investigation was conducted using a geoprobe drill rig and continuous soil sampling.
Text Box: NEE made recommendations to evaluate soil in two areas of potential risk where historic underground storage tanks (UST) were once known to be located. It was not known from available records if the USTs had been removed, so a ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey was conducted to locate any USTs or utilities in the suspect areas. The GPR survey concluded that the USTs had been removed. Text Box: NEE supervised the drilling of seven soil borings. Soil samples were collected continuously using direct push technology and a Geoprobe rig. Headspace screening of the soil samples was conducted using a MiniRAE Plus Classic photoionization detector (PID) to measure relative concentrations of total organic vapors. Based on the screening results and field observations, seven soil samples were selected for laboratory analysis to determine if a release of OHM had occurred. No concentration in any sample was reported above the applicable S-1 Reportable Concentration. Confirmatory soil sampling from the two areas of concern indicated there was not a release of OHM associated with the former USTs. NEE concluded that the potential for contamination of soil, groundwater, or sediments with Oil or Hazardous Materials (OHM) at the Site, was low.

21E Environmental Site Assessment (ESA)

Public Housing Improvements

Holyoke, MA

CASE STUDY

Site Assessment