SALEM, N.H. — Before the Bike-Pedestrian Trail and Depot intersection are revamped, officials need to clean up decades-old chemicals that may have contaminated the water along South Broadway.
Officials from the New Hampshire Department of Transportation divulged the groundwater contamination during a Jan. 22 update on the Depot Intersection Project.
The contamination originated from several former gas stations in the area and a dry cleaning facility, according to state Department of Transportation Engineer C.R.
The product has been found to cause liver and neurological damage, and is defined by the Environmental Protection Agency as a potential human carcinogen.
It is currently rented by Sugar and Spice Bake Shoppe and Kian Taekwondo.
The Eagle-Tribune was unable to reach property owner Robert Allard for comment.
Daisy Cleaners owner Jim Desjardins said that he has dealt with some groundwater contamination from his business over the last decade.
He said he has spent $600,000 to clean-up the chlorinated solvents that seeped into the soil during the early years of the shop.
"We don’t know the magnitude of the cleanup costs," Willeke said, adding that the department likely will not have an answer until they enter the final project design stage sometime this summer or fall.
The Town of Salem is expected to pay 20 percent of the cleanup costs for any contamination encountered during the Depot Intersection construction and will likely assume some responsibility for future cleanup and monitoring efforts, Hudson said.