Press Releases
07/09/2021
Remediation of Former United Nuclear Corporation Site in New Haven Complete
Long Idle and Impaired Site Now a Fully Remediated Community Asset
(HARTFORD)—The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), along with partners at the federal, municipal, and community level, and the private sector, is pleased to announce the completion of remediation activities at the former United Nuclear Corporation site located at 71 Shelton Ave. in the Newhallville neighborhood of New Haven.
The site was utilized by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct research and make nuclear fuel components for the U.S. Navy from the mid-1950s until 1974, playing a key role during the Cold War. Environmental cleanup was conducted at the time the facility closed, however the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviewed the cleanup in recent years and determined that additional cleanup was needed. Final remediation work at the site began in October 2019 and concluded in late 2020.
The completion of remediation work at the site was an excellent example of different stakeholders working together for a common purpose. DOE, NRC, DEEP, General Electric (GE), the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH), the City of New Haven, Newhallville community organizers, and the current site owner all played key roles in this accomplishment.
“Here’s to all the folks from DEEP, and others, who played such a role in cleaning up the former United Nuclear Corporation site in New Haven,” Gov. Ned Lamont said. “Here’s to the neighbors in Newhallville, this is amazing, the transformation, you see what this has looked like for many, many, many years, and what a difference it is now. So to the friends of DEEP, the environmentalists, and to the neighborhood, that’s progress, I appreciate all you did to make this happen.”
“This project represents what we’re all about at the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, protecting the environment, and protecting the people who live in that environment,” DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said. “The Lamont Administration is committed to equity, to ensure that all communities get the same quality of clean-up and environmental remediation. I’m so grateful to all of the different agencies and stakeholders who made this project possible.”
DOE officials coordinated funding, and reviewed procedures and the work done on the project, while GE, former site owner, facilitated the work.
“At General Electric, we are committed to ensuring that all communities where we operate realize the strongest environmental protection from our activities,” said James Van Nortwick, GE Project Manager. “Although we acquired UNC long after the New Haven facility had closed, and never operated there, we worked closely with a number of partners to achieve a single goal- successfully complete the remediation activities, and return the property for the benefit of the community.”
The final remediation work consisted of deconstructing the buildings on-site, as well as concrete foundations, utility trenches, and sub-slab structures and basins, and excavation of underlying soil to achieve acceptable regulatory requirements. Clean-up operations were conducted in a deliberate manner to minimize the generation of airborne dust, and air monitoring activities were conducted throughout the process. Nearly 10,000 tons of waste materials were removed from the site, and transported to facilities in Alabama and Utah without incident. Where possible, non-regulated construction debris, such as concrete and steel, was recycled locally. Deconstruction was conducted by Stamford Wrecking Company, with oversight by Arcadis, an environmental consulting firm.
Throughout the course of the remediation work, neighborhood stakeholders were kept informed through project managers’ attendance at monthly community team meetings, and were provided status update emails and fact sheets that included photographs, air monitoring data, and information regarding waste shipments.
Steve Winter, Alderman of the 21st Ward, in which the former UNC site sat, lives a block away from the site, and walks his dog near the site every day.
“It’s a great comfort to know that the site was successfully cleaned up, and I just wanted to communicate how much I appreciated the clear communication from Jim and the GE team, and Rocco with his frequent updates from Arcadis, and all the participation at the Community Management Team and tours of the facility, to really make it clear what was going on and how we knew that the clean-up was going to be thorough and how we would know when it was going to be complete,” Winter said.
“I do want to thank everyone for keeping the Management Team and Alder Winters informed, and myself,” Addie Kimbrough, Community Management Team member, Newhallville, said.
Radiation professionals from DEEP and the NRC provided oversight of the remediation work, reviewing work plans to ensure regulatory compliance; and conducting independent confirmatory analyses to confirm that the site was remediated to state and federal standards. These analyses included analyzing numerous soil samples taken from the site and conducting a scan of the site using radiation detection instruments to ensure the soil met state and federal radiological criteria.
“Based on our review of documents, our inspections, the final site survey, and NRC ORISE confirmatory surveys, we have reasonable assurance the site meets the requirements for unrestricted use,” Diane Screnci, Senior Public Affairs Officer, NRC, said. “That means, from a radiological perspective, the owners or future owners of the site have no restrictions on what the land can be used for.”
“I want to thank the DOE, GE, the NRC, and my staff for all the work that they’ve done to ensure they’ve fully remediated the site and it no longer presents a hazard to the environment or to the surrounding community, and I also really want to thank the Newhallville community, including the Community Management Team and local alders, who really engaged with us in this process,” DEEP Radiation Division Director Jeffrey Semancik said.
Greg Chandler, Project Officer, DOE, said the collaboration of all of the stakeholders involved was integral to the successful completion of the project.
"It was a pleasure to work with the various stakeholders on this project and we sincerely appreciate everyone's dedication and professionalism to get the project done correctly,” Chandler said.
Go here to view a video documenting the site’s history, and the final remediation work.
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