Agencies to host virtual meeting on Bliss Corner cleanup

Residents will be updated on the ongoing cleanup plans for Dartmouth’s Bliss Corner neighborhood at an online meeting on Dec. 2 at 6:30 p.m.

At the meeting, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will update residents on the investigations occurring in the neighborhood over the past two years, with an emphasis on findings since the state agency’s last in-person meeting on Oct. 1, 2019. 

A representative from the EPA will then provide an update on its contamination removal action plan for the homes where the agency identified dangerously high levels of contaminants in soil.

At the end of the presentation, the public will be allowed to ask questions of the state and federal teams.

The Bliss Corner neighborhood — now thought to have been a historic dumping site prior to its residential development — was found to have dangerously high levels of contaminants during construction activity at 85 McCabe St. and 20 Kraseman St. in early 2019.

The waste material observed typically consisted of discolored soil containing broken glass, scrap metal, bricks, shingles, and tar-like material. 

Since the initial discovery, 74 properties have been looked at for possible contamination.

According to the EPA, soil around 20 Bliss Corner properties were well above the federal lead level, while one home exceeded the federal level for polychlorinated biphenyls — also known as PCBs — with more than 23 parts per million.

For more information on the Bliss Corner investigation, and to register for the online meeting, visit www.mass.gov/service-details/bliss-corner-neighborhood-dartmouth-ma.