History

During early April, 2003, while involved with the construction of a storm water detention pond on Sargeant Avenue, in the area of the Holman Athletic Stadium, the City of Nashua (City) discovered that soils being removed from this location were contaminated with asbestos wastes.

An initial investigation by the City revealed the presence of suspect asbestos wastes in the form of plate and bag house wastes in subsurface soils. Prior to the discovery, excavated soils from this project were being transported to the City's municipal landfill (Four Hills Landfill) for disposal and to a nearby location within the City at 523 Broad Street where it was being stockpiled for use as fill at Majestic Heights, a local residential development.

Once asbestos was discovered, the City suspended soil excavations, notified the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, and contracted with an asbestos abatement firm to begin characterizing the nature and extent of contamination in the remaining soils in the detention pond area, preparatory to removal.

The City asked the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for assistance with evaluating the potential health risk for local residents who may have been exposed to asbestos contaminated soils as the result this project. DHHS provided comments on a draft risk assessment report prepared for the City by its consultant that qualitatively evaluated potential exposure to contaminated soils.

Although environmental sampling data was not available at this time, the consultant found that, based on a number of factors, including the limited presence of asbestos contamination at the site, seasonal weather conditions (frozen ground conditions in winter followed by unusually wet conditions in spring) and limited opportunities for exposure to outdoor soils during that time of year, that there was little likelihood that local residents would have been at appreciable health risk.

At the City's request, DHHS also participated, along with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES), in a public meeting that the City held on April 16, 2003, at the Amherst Street Elementary School to hear local residents' health concerns and to discuss plans for clean up of the contaminated soils.

Following this meeting, DHHS was able to speak with several residents from the Broad Street neighborhood that expressed concern about the materials being stockpiled on the adjacent development property.