Progress & News
This section provides a high-level overview about progress at the site, and more detailed information is available in the most recent Progress Report submitted to the State of Maine. The figure below provides general information about remediation work performed at the Site:
PROGRESS REPORT (Updated October 2024)
Plant Area Remediation Update:
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The Plant Area at the Site is approximately 12 acres on which the former manufacturing processes took place. The original remediation design for the Plant Area was submitted in early 2017. After discussions with the Maine DEP, distinct phases of work were specified. The Phase 1 design was submitted in December 2017, approved in January 2018, removal of impacted soils was completed in 2019, and the area has now been restored. The Phase 1A design was submitted to the Maine DEP and work began on this scope at the end of 2019 and continued through the fall of 2021. Concurrent with Phase 1A, the design to remove numerous concrete foundations and utilities was developed and approved, and these removal activities began in late 2020 with discussions with the Maine DEP and multiple addendums taking place through 2023. The design for another specific area of focus, the Paved Sump and Catch Basin, was submitted and approved in 2022, and work continued through fall of 2023. Mallinckrodt and the Maine DEP are continuing to discuss the appropriate path to achieve closure of the Site and transition to long-term operation and maintenance activities.
See the Project Cleanup/Plant Area for more information. ​​​​​
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Site Spotlight:
Extensive Extraction System Effectively Controls Site Groundwater
The primary groundwater remedy at the Site consists of groundwater extraction and treatment. Multiple extraction wells, strategically located, pump impacted groundwater from beneath the surface to a series of pipes which convey the water to the on-site groundwater treatment plant. Extraction wells are located near/within the former Landfill 1 area and around the closed Landfills 3,4, and 5. Each well location was located based on site specific hydrogeologic and geotechnical data, and the design of each system was submitted to the Maine DEP. The Landfill 1 groundwater extraction system (GWES) was approved in 2018 and started up in 2019. It includes eight wells which pump a combined total of 15.5 million gallons of groundwater each year. The Landfills 3,4,5 GWES was approved in 2021 and started up that same year. This system includes three extraction wells and pumps a combined total of 1.24 million gallons per year.
The controls for both extraction systems were recently upgraded with remote monitoring capabilities, allowing the Site’s groundwater consultants to monitor the system even when not on site. A backup generator is also in place so that even with a power outage, the extraction wells will continue to pump groundwater for treatment.
The continued pumping of these wells allows all site groundwater exceeding the cleanup standards to be extracted and treated in accordance with the applicable permit and other requirements. The wells are monitored on a quarterly basis and the “capture zone,” the area influenced by the GWES, is periodically verified to ensure all areas of impacted groundwater at the site are being captured. This monitoring program ensures both GWES continue to operate as designed.
This page will be periodically updated with progress reports, photos and other news.