5. Shpack Landfill
SHPACK LANDFILV
SITE SUMMARY
The Shpack Landfill is located about 65 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of Boston in the towns of Norton and
Attleboro, Massachusetts. The Shpack Landfill began operating as a private landfill in the early 1960s and
received both industrial and domestic wastes. The landfill was closed in the mid-1960s under court order. In
the late 1970s, a concerned citizen who had detected elevated radiation levels at the site contacted the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The NRC investigated the site and confirmed the presence of
radioactivity in excess of natural background levels for the area.
The landfill contains wastes that are contaminated with high-enriched uranium, low-enriched uranium, natural
uranium, depleted uranium, radium, and various chemicals. Exactly when the contaminated materials were
deposited at the site is not known. However, the NRC determined that the Texas Instruments plant (formerly
M&C Nuclear, Inc.) in Attleboro had used the landfill to dispose of trash and other materials, some of which
were generated from NRC-licensed activities at the plant. The NRC concluded that the contamination probably
resulted primarily from these activities.
In the 1980s, personnel from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory conducted a radiological characterization of
the site, confirmed the NRC findings, and defined the general areas of contamination. Macroscopic amounts of
high-enriched uranium and otherradioactive materials were also removed during the radiological characterization
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MASSACHUSETTS
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Shpack Landfill
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The Shpack Landfill is one of the 21 Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) sites where
cleanup responsibility was transferred to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) in accordance with the Energy and Water
Development Appropriations Act for FY 1998. At these 21 sites, the Corps is responsible for remediation and DOE is
responsible for long-term stewardship activities, if any are deemed necessary. The cleanup decisions for these sites are not yet
final and, therefore, the extent of long-term stewardship required for these sites, if any, is not yet known.
Massachusetts
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6. National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Long-Term Stewardship Report
survey. Based on the results of this survey, the former Shpack Landfill was designated for cleanup under the U.S.
Department of Energy's Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). However, the Department
determined that the Texas Instruments plant was excluded from FUSRAP because activities at the facility were
licensed by the NRC.
The Town of Norton purchased the Shpack Landfill in the 1980s. The area is fenced and posted with "no
trespassing" signs, and the Town of Norton and the New England Power Company control access to the site.
In the late 1980s, Shpack was listed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Priority List.
The initial phase of the remedial investigation/feasibility study has been completed. Radioactive contamination
at the site is believed to have come from private sources. EPA has identified potentially responsible parties for
the site and the federal government was not identified.
In 1997, the site was transferred to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) for remediation. The remedial
action for this site is not yet complete and, therefore, the extent of long-term stewardship required, if any, is not
yet known.
For additional information about the Shpack Landfill, please contact:
Public Affairs Office
New England District
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
696 Virginia Road
Concord, MA 01742-2751
Phone: 978-318-8264
or visit the Internet website at: http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/
Massachusetts
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