Atlas Tack Corp.

Overview

Atlas Tack Corp. sits at 83 Pleasant Street in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, covering about 48 acres of upland areas, wetlands, and saltwater marsh along the Buzzards Bay Estuary. The facility made tacks, steel nails, and similar metal products from 1901 to 1985. Process wastes were discharged into an unlined lagoon next to a tidal marsh from the 1940s through the late 1970s or 1980s. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in February 1990.

The EPA identified 171 contaminants of concern at the site. These include metals such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury, organic chemicals like benzene and toluene, pesticides including DDT compounds and dieldrin, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzo[a]pyrene. Contamination reached soil, groundwater, sediment, and nearby wetland areas.

EPA selected a cleanup plan in a March 2000 Record of Decision. Work ran from June 2005 to September 2007 and included demolishing remaining structures, excavating roughly 108,000 tons of contaminated material, and disposing of it off-site. The plan also included monitored natural attenuation, phytoremediation, and institutional controls. A 2009 Explanation of Significant Differences made a nonfundamental change to that remedy. Human exposure is now under control, and groundwater migration is being monitored to confirm contaminated groundwater stays within the original affected area. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection took over monitoring and maintenance responsibilities in 2018. On-site wetland areas are expected to be fully restored to pre-industrial conditions.

Institutional controls restrict groundwater use for drinking and prevent incompatible land uses such as residential development. Future use of the upland areas could include commercial and industrial development. These restrictions stay in effect as long as contamination or cleanup components remain on site. EPA completed its fourth five-year review in July 2025, with the next review scheduled for 2030. The site has not yet been deleted from the National Priorities List.

Community members can stay informed through local media, the EPA website at www.epa.gov/superfund/atlas, and announced public meetings. Site records are available at the Fairhaven Millicent Library at 45 Center Street and at the EPA Region 1 records center in Boston. EPA has also installed three interpretive signs at the site covering its history, remediation, and ecological restoration work, with online and translated versions available.