General Chemical Cleanup In Framingham: DEP To Host Forum

FRAMINGHAM, MA — State and city officials will host a community meeting on Thursday about the plan to clean up the General Chemical site in south Framingham near the Sherborn and Natick borders.

The state Department of Environmental Protection will likely begin moving equipment onto the 133-135 Leland St. site ahead of the March 11 public meeting. The site cleanup was supposed to begin last spring, but was postponed due to the pandemic.

Framingham Chief Operating Officer Thatcher Kezer told the City Council on Tuesday the work will take place during the spring and summer. A cleanup team will be sticking probes into the ground to heat up and destroy harmful chemicals, Kezer said.

The General Chemical site is located behind Framingham's Woodrow Wilson Elementary. The site was used beginning in the 1920s to store petroleum products. In the 1960s, General Chemical began using it to store and recycle hazardous solvents, including tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE). The facility closed in 2012.

According to MassDEP, a "plume" of contamination underneath the ground extends southwest from the property. Some contaminants drain into a ditch that flows into Course Brook, which flows into Sherborn and Natick. Course Brook is not a drinking water source, but it does flow into Fisk Pond in Natick and nearby wetlands, endangering plant and animal life, MassDEP has said.

The public meeting will be held via Zoom beginning at 7 p.m. on March 11. Elected officials from Framingham and Sherborn will take part in the meeting.

Here's the full DEP public meeting notice: