Durham Meadows

Overview

Durham Meadows sits along Main Street in Durham, Connecticut, where two metal cabinet manufacturers operated for decades. Durham Manufacturing Company (DMC) began operations in 1922 and still runs its facility at 201 Main Street. Merriam Manufacturing Company (MMC) operated at 281 Main Street until a fire destroyed most of the building in March 1998. Both companies used industrial solvents, and contamination spread into soil, groundwater, and nearby residential drinking water wells. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in October 1989.

EPA has identified 43 contaminants of concern across groundwater, soil, and air. Groundwater contains volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including trichloroethene, benzene, 1,1-dichloroethane, and 1,2-dichloroethane, plus metals such as arsenic, mercury, and vanadium. Soil contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) such as benzo(a)pyrene, chrysene, and fluoranthene, along with trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, arsenic, chromium, and mercury. Trichloroethene is also present in air at the site.

EPA signed a Record of Decision in September 2005 and later amended it through three Explanations of Significant Differences issued in 2011, 2018, and 2024. Cleanup has several components. Soil excavation at the MMC area was finished in 2011 and 2012. All residents with contaminated drinking water were connected to the Middletown Water Distribution System, which entered service in July 2022. Water line construction, which began in September 2019, was scheduled to be fully completed in 2025. Cleanup of the DMC Study Area began in July 2025 and was expected to finish by Spring 2026. This work focuses on excavating contaminated soil that drives groundwater contamination and vapor emissions. Long-term groundwater monitoring continues across the site. Institutional controls restrict certain land uses, such as residential development, and will stay in place as long as contamination or cleanup components remain.

Human exposure is currently under control, meaning no unacceptable pathways exist for people to contact site contamination. However, groundwater migration is not yet under control. Physical construction is not complete, and the site has not reached all cleanup goals. The final remedial action phase began in June 2024 and is estimated to wrap up between December 2026 and February 2027. A long-term response action is planned to follow. The next five-year review is estimated to occur between September and November 2026. One business currently operates on site, employing 99 people and generating roughly $13.7 million in annual sales.

Community members can follow progress through monthly site updates and biweekly progress reports posted on EPA's site documents page. Records are also available at the Durham Public Library and the EPA Region 1 Records and Information Center in Boston.

(NOTE: This summary was created based on all information available on the EPA's official site profile page as of May 29, 2026. As of June 11, 2026, the EPA has not published updates regarding work scheduled to be completed in 2025. For the most up-to-date information, visit the EPA's official profile page for this site. For questions or clarification, contact the EPA Community Involvement Coordinator and/or Remedial Project Manager assigned to this site.)