By Bob McGarry, Haddam First Selectman
(March 29, 2024) — November 21, 2022, is a key date to keep in mind when you’re reading, or reading about, Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs) and hazardous material issues at the Scovil Hoe factories in Higganum Center. What’s so important about that day? That’s the day we closed on the property and took possession of it from DOT. So what?
Prior to taking ownership, the Town hired Fuss & O’Neill in 2017 to conduct due diligence investigations for the property. Prior to Fuss, more than ten different environmental investigations had been conducted for the Scovil site since 1986 that included assessments of soil, groundwater, and hazardous building materials (such as lead paint and asbestos). Specific to hazardous building materials, studies had been conducted by Enviromed in 2001 and by Fuss & O’Neill in 2017. There also were some documents obtained by Fuss regarding DOT conducting abatement of asbestos containing materials prior to 2017.
Most due diligence investigations are conducted at the request of a potential buyer for a property. The purpose of these types of investigations is to inform the buyer of any known and any potential contaminants at the site. Think of them like a home inspection when you’re buying or selling a home. The buyer hires someone with more technical knowledge to inspect the house. Is the house structurally sound, is the wiring safe, is the plumbing in good condition, etc.? The homeowner will let the inspector look the house over, test outlets, flush toilets, etc. but they probably won’t let the inspector open walls to check the insulation.
The inspection report will indicate what worked and what didn’t work (known issues). Often, it will also identify issues that commonly occur in houses of a similar age, such as inadequate insulation (potential issues). The ESA does the same thing. The environmental technicians will visually inspect the property, review historical records and past reports, and take samples if allowed. They’ll report any signs indicating potential hazards, like an asbestos warning on pipe insulation, or documents indicating hazardous materials were on site that they can neither confirm nor disprove.
As was stated in the Fuss & O’Neill report, “Only visible and accessible areas were included in the scope of work…” (Hazardous Building Materials Report, Appendix A). DOT didn’t want the buildings damaged during our due diligence assessments, so no penetrations behind walls or ceilings were made. A perfectly reasonable restriction.
This was the only data gap cited in the Fuss report (potential for inaccessible materials). They had confirmed various asbestos-containing materials were present, such as window and door caulk, roofing materials, and lead paint on some building components. They clearly indicated the attic insulation (above the ceiling) had previously been sampled by Enviromed and was found not to be asbestos-containing.
Once we owned the buildings, we hired Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB) and Eagle Environmental to develop the plan to remediate soil and abate hazardous building materials, respectively. Eagle Environmental reviewed the previous hazardous building materials inspection reports and made penetrations in walls and ceilings throughout the buildings to look for any additional suspect hazardous building materials. None were identified. Pipe insulation observed in walls was fiberglass. Eagle has prepared abatement specifications for the asbestos-containing materials identified and will be providing abatement monitoring services during their removal.
Currently, VHB and Eagle are supporting the Town with concerns regarding developer renovation activities and proper management and disposal of lead paint-containing building materials. The developer has hired a Lead Certified Contractor that is developing a workplan for review and approval before their renovation work can resume.
Despite what you may have read or heard, no asbestos has been touched by the current demolition work. VHB’s Director of Environmental Services, a licensed environmental professional, reported to the state: “There have been no asbestos-containing materials disturbed.”
