EPA to Host Virtual Meeting to Provide Updates on the New Bedford Harbor Superfund Site

EPA to Host Virtual Meeting to Provide Updates on the New Bedford Harbor Superfund Site

May 6, 2026

BOSTON, MASS. (May 6, 2026) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold a virtual meeting on May 20, 2026, to provide updates on work accomplished at the New Bedford Harbor Superfund Site over the last year. Topics will include activity at the Sawyer Street facility, fish consumption outreach, and the monitoring and maintenance of remediated saltmarshes and sediment caps.

When: Wednesday May 20, 2026 - from 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Join: https://usepa.zoomgov.com/j/1611310063

For questions, accessibility issues or other special accommodations, contact: Aaron Shaheen; [email protected]; 617-918-1071.

Background:

The 18,000-acre New Bedford site is an urban tidal estuary with sediments which were historically highly contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metals. Two manufacturing facilities in the area used PCBs while producing electric devices from the 1940s to the late 1970s. These facilities discharged industrial wastes containing PCBs directly into the harbor and indirectly through the city sewer system.

As a result, the harbor was contaminated with PCBs in varying degrees for at least 6 miles from the upper Acushnet River into Buzzards Bay. Over 100,000 people live within 3 miles of the site. CERCLA pilot dredging and disposal studies began in the late 1980s, and "hot spot" dredging occurred in 1994 and 1995. Subtidal dredging in the Upper and Lower Harbor was completed in 2020, and remaining intertidal cleanups were completed in 2024. Sitewide long-term monitoring activities have occurred since 1993 to assist in the evaluation of the remedy over time.

Bioaccumulation of PCBs within the marine food chain has resulted in closing certain areas to lobstering, shellfishing, and fishing; in other areas the frequency of fish and shellfish meals are subject to advisories. Since 1982, signs warning the public of the presence of PCBs in the harbor have been in place and maintenance and replacement of these continue as needed.