Starmet/NMI: Contractors to Start Shipping Waste Off-Site Next Week

Up to six trucks could be leaving the site per day as cleanup efforts continue at the superfund site in West Concord.

Trucks loaded with waste materials will start rolling away from the Starmet/Nuclear Metals superfund site in West Concord next week, another step forward on the long road toward remediation. Beginning next week, as many as six trucks could begin leaving the site daily, according to the latest update from Bruce Thompson, project coordinator for de maximus inc. Loaded trucks leaving the site on weekdays will avoid rush hours and school bus hours, and receive safety and radiological contamination inspections before leaving the gate. Their route will proceed east on Rt. 62, to Rt. 2 west and then on to 495, according to Thompson’s memo, which said the removal of building contents will continue through the end of 2013. The off-site disposal of…

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More Former Nuclear Metals Employees Eligible for Medical Benefits, Compensation

A new class employees who worked at the West Concord superfund site added to Special Exposure Cohort of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act.

A new group former employees of Nuclear Metals Inc. is now eligible for compensation and medical benefits under an act that covers workers who became ill as a result of working in the nuclear weapons industry. The U.S. Department of Labor is notifying all former employees of Nuclear Metals of a new class of employees recently added to the Special Exposure Cohort of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, according to a department press release. The new cohort includes all automatic weapons employees who worked for Nuclear Metals or a subsequent owner of its West Concord facility from Oct. 29, 1958 through Dec. 31, 1979 for at least 250 workdays. Their designation under the SEC became effective on Jan. 6, meaning…

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You Ask, Patch Answers

What’s Going on at the Starmet/Nuclear Metals Site?

Some outdoor site work will begin this week during normal business hours.

  Neighbors to the Starmet/NMI in West Concord could be hearing chainsaws and heavy equipment this week as the contractor tasked with demolishing the superfund site will begin some outdoor activities. That’s according to a notice posted to the town website, which explained the outdoor activities “will include clearing trees near the buildings and some minor earthwork to prepare staging areas for trucks and to install a truck scale.” Site work and demolition of the buildings 2229 Main St. comes more than a decade after the Starmet/NMI site was added to the Superfund National Priorities List in 2001. An agreement to remove the buildings came in 2011, after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Army, U.S. Department of Energy, …

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Police Log: Scoping Out Starmet and A Rollover Accident

The following information was provided by the Concord Police Department. An arrest does not indicate a conviction.

Tuesday, Nov. 13 1:11 a.m. – An officer reported checking on a vehicle parked in a driveway on Main Street with its door left open. He spoke with the owner, and determined the open door was due to apparent neglect. 2:04 a.m. – An officer radioed in to report checking on a subject walking on Lowell Road from Barretts Mill Road. He reported the man was walking home from a friend’s residence. 1:26 p.m. – Police investigated a reported motor vehicle accident in which a man reported a vehicle sideswiped his trash truck on Main Street. 2:38 p.m. – A Concord man reported losing his Bank of America card sometime the previous day. 3:24 p.m. – Police responded to a report that a green pickup ran a Stop sign on Lowell Road, before pasting the caller’…

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The Week in Review

Nuclear Buildings, a Heat Wave and Blueberry Pancakes

A look back at the week’s most notable stories.

After years of dumping uranium into the ground on Main Street, former Concord company Nuclear Metals closed up shop in the 1980s. Years later, the site was deemed unsafe by the Environmental Protection Agency and finally, this past week, several groups agreed to demolish buildings that remain on site. The other big story this week was the excessive heat that residents contended with. Concord Light anticipated a peak energy demand on Thursday, while the Harvey Wheeler Center advertised itself as one that offered a cool environment. Still, residents found other ways to stay cool this week. On the farms this week, we looked at blueberry pancakes and cherry tomatoes, and we toured Saltbox. In other news, the Cops survived another week on …

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