Name______period_____
Investigating Connecticut Brownfield Sites
Background Information:
More than 290 sites in Connecticut have been identified as “Brownfield Sites.” These are parcels of property once used for industrial, commercial or manufacturing and are now typically abandoned due to suspected contamination. Often these unused parcels adversely affect the quality of living in the area and may pose potential health risks to local citizens. Financial assistance is available from the state and federal governments to assess and remediate these sites.
The Connecticut Brownfield Inventory is updated on a regular basis. A link is found at the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection’s website: http://dep.state.ct.us/wst/remediation/brownfields/brownfields.htm.
A list of area Brownfield sites is attached.
Your Task:
Find a Connecticut Brownfield site near your hometown by clicking on the Brownfield Inventory link found at the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection’s website listed above. What has the property been used for that led it to being identified as a Brownfield site? Use a search engine such as Google or the ICONN Database to research one of the potential contaminants at the site. Information on possible contaminants found at a different Brownfield sites is included below.
Your task is to formulate a question about the site that may be answered through scientific investigation and to design the investigation. Do not worry about the specific steps needed to isolate the contaminant or specific techniques used to measure the contaminant’s effect on the environment. Focus on writing a general plan for your investigation including the independent and dependent variables to be studied, general procedures you will follow and the data you will collect. Include a control group if appropriate.
Contaminant / Possible source of contaminationHeavy metals:
arsenic, cadmium chromium, lead,
mercury / metal finishing/plating shops, manufacturing and foundries, coal burning power plants
Gasoline/constituents of gasoline:
gasoline, benzene,
ethylbenzene, toluene,
xylene / gasoline stations, tank farms, pipelines
Solvents:
tetrachloroethlyene,
trichloroethylene,
III-trichloroethane / dry cleaners, machine shops,
metal finishing/plating shops
.
Brownfields Inventory
Branford TOTAL NUMBER OF LOCATIONS: 3
Site name Street Acreage Past use Contact Party
Former MIF Complex 50 Maple Street 28 Manufacturing\\iron CBRA
Former Nutmeg Steel Company 59 North Harbor Street/20 Elm 5.61 Manufacturing CBRA
Street Moore Special Tools 32 Acorn Road 1.5 Manufacturing\\Metal tools CBRA
Durham TOTAL NUMBER OF LOCATIONS: 1
Site name Street Acreage Past use Contact Party
Merriam Manufacturing 281 Main Street 1.03 Manufacturing\\Metal Box CBRA
Haddam TOTAL NUMBER OF LOCATIONS: 7
Site name Street Acreage Past use Contact Party
DOT Construction Site Saybrook Rd & Rte 82 106.5 Public works CBRA
DOT Maintenance Facility 11 Candlewood Rd 4 Manufacturing/Farm CITY
Equipment
Firehouse 2 1010 Saybrook Rd 0.5 Petroleum retail CBRA
Higganum Cove (Frismar) 19 Nosal Rd 9 Carbon paper CITY
manufacturing
Higganum Firehouse 7 Candlewood Hill Rd 0.5 Manufacturing/Farm CITY
Equipment
Rossi Site 300 Saybrook Rd 4 Industrial CBRA
Town Garage 103 Depot Rd 1.5 Manufacturing\\Farm CITY
Equipment
Ledyard TOTAL NUMBER OF LOCATIONS: 4
Site name Street Acreage Past use Contact Party
Erickson Property 110 Military Highway 2.9 Automotive service EPA
station\\Convenience store\\roller rink
Landfill and Kennels 215 Stoddards Wharf 220.3 Landfill\\Kennels CBRA
Soneco Baldwin Hill Rd 5 Asphalt CBRA
manufacturing\\Sand and gravel pit
Town Garage 4 7 Iron St 4.9 Storage CBRA
Middletown TOTAL NUMBER OF LOCATIONS: 5
Site name Street Acreage Past use Contact Party
City of Middletown Waste Water Lot 3 River Rd 7 Waste water treatment CITY
Treatment Plant Marino Property 50 Walnut St 3 Landfill, Municipal and CITY
Industrial Waste
Peterson Oil Property Lot 2 River Road 3 Fuel oil distribution center CITY
Portland Chemical 181 Newfield St 2 Chemical depot (rail CITY
terminal)
Weston Property Lot 1 River Rd 0.3 Storage lot/junkyard CITY
Montville TOTAL NUMBER OF LOCATIONS: 1
Site name Street Acreage Past use Contact Party
855 Norwich New London Turnpike 855 Rte 32 1.9 Laundromat\\Dry cleaning CBRA
New London TOTAL NUMBER OF LOCATIONS: 15
Site name Street Acreage Past use Contact Party
Bank Street (Abbott's Seafood) CITY
Bank Street Property 334 Bank Street 1.72 Industrial CBRA
Castle Realty LLC Smith Street 2.78 Petroleum Storage CBRA
Central Vermont Railway State Pier Road 2.1 Railroad Yard CBRA
Crescent Communications 43 Hempstead Street 0.04 Manufacturing CBRA
Fort Trumbull MDP Parcel 1 114 Smith St 9.5 Oil, diesel, gasoline CITY
terminal\\AMTRAK rail yard\\Navy land
Heating Oils Partner 410 Bank Street 1.02 Petroleum CBRA
Lawrence & Memorial Hospital 7 Ray Street 18.43 Vacant Land CBRA
Rogovin Moving 406 Colman Street 0.91 Industrial CBRA
Rogovin Property Colman Street 3.41 Industrial CBRA
Shaw Cove Shaw Street 1.37 Industrial CBRA
Thames Valley Steel 1 Eastern Avenue 1 Manufacturing CBRA
Thames Valley Steel 18 Eastern Avenue 2.98 Manufacturing CBRA
Thames Valley Steel Eastern Avenue 2.29 Vacant Land CBRA
Waterfront Park CITY
Norwich TOTAL NUMBER OF LOCATIONS: 6
Site name Street Acreage Past use Contact Party
Capehart Mill/Historic North Main Street 11 Manufacturing CBRA
Chestnut Street Site 77 Chestnut Street 0.7 Mill CBRA
Falls Avenue Mills 18 & 28 Falls Avenue 2 Mill CBRA
Hidden Valley Club 751 North Main Street 2 Mill Site CBRA
Norwich Textiles 132-176 Franklin 1.84 Mill CBRA
Occum Roto Print 2 Taftville - Occum Rd EPA
Portland TOTAL NUMBER OF LOCATIONS: 1
Site name Street Acreage Past use Contact Party
CT DOT site Freestone Avenue CTDEP
Preston TOTAL NUMBER OF LOCATIONS: 1
Site name Street Acreage Past use Contact Party
Norwich Hospital Rte 12 470 Hospital CBRA
Westbrook TOTAL NUMBER OF LOCATIONS: 1
Site name Street Acreage Past use Contact Party
Turnpike Auto Wrecker Site 88 Pond Meadow Rd 5.4 Autobody shop CTDEP