‘These are gross substances’: EPA urged to clean up Westerly site
WESTERLY, R.I. (WPRI) — The now-vacant Bradford Printing and Finishing mill in Westerly is still home to a long list of dangerous chemicals, and Save the Bay is urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to fast-track its cleanup.
According to a 2023 draft report from the R.I. Department of Environmental Management (DEM), the mill's groundwater has PFAS contaminants "at some of the highest levels in the state, well above the health advisory."
Dr. Catie Alves, the South County coast keeper with Save the Bay, said those contaminants are already affecting the fish in the Pawcatuck River, which is right next to the mill. She said while the area is popular for fishing, she would not eat the fish.
"The Department of Health found PFAS in fish tissue for both fish in the lagoons and the rivers," she said. "These are gross substances that we don't want to interact with people and we don't want it to interact with the environment."
According to the EPA, the mill was once home to Bradford Printing and Finishing, a roughly century-old company that specialized in dyeing jackets for the military.
In 2007, a massive fire brought crews to the mill. Neighbors within a mile radius were evacuated, and it took multiple fire departments nine hours to snuff out the final embers. Officials told 12 News at the time that the fire had started in a dryer.
Then in 2012, the mill caught fire again.
"The roof in this part of the building is damaged heavily from the last fire and it should be torn down," said the Bradford Fire Chief at the time.
The EPA said the company filed for bankruptcy shortly after the fire. But according to a 2013 EPA report, there were still hundreds of containers of hazardous and flammable materials inside, from acetone to mercury. In the report, federal regulators wrote that a number of the containers were "visibly leaking" and "the recent fire further degraded the site structures and storage containers to a dilapidated condition."
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According to the EPA, many of those containers were removed before Superstorm Sandy, and state environmental officials said dozens more were removed when Pawtucket-based Rockingham Estate LLC purchased the mill in 2019.
Target 12 spoke with the current owners' attorney, who said he would reach out to the owners. They ultimately did not respond to a request for an interview.
Alves said she is worried that with climate change fueling more intense storms, floods could further endanger the nearby wildlife.
"As of right now, there's nothing really preventing any ongoing contamination from this site [going] into the waterway," said Alves.
In August, Save the Bay and eight other local organizations sent a letter to the EPA urging the agency to prioritize the mill as a "Superfund site," which would open it up to more federal funds for cleanup efforts.
Alves said that process normally takes five to 10 years, but she said federal regulators should not wait.
"The more time that we waste in not getting this listed as a Superfund site, not getting the federal resources to remediate is just further contamination," she said.
According to the 2023 DEM report, contaminants did not pose a risk to nearby private wells. Alves said Save the Bay is currently in talks with the EPA, which is in the process of conducting its own investigation of the mill for contaminants.
Kate Wilkinson ( ) is a Target 12 investigative reporter for 12 News. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook .
