Mottolo Pig Farm

Overview

Between 1975 and 1979, a pig farm in Raymond, New Hampshire accepted over 1,600 drums and pails of chemical waste, which were buried in a quarter-acre fill area on the property. The site was added to the EPA's National Priorities List (NPL) in 1987. The NPL is the federal list of the most serious hazardous waste sites in the country. Cleanup work has been organized across two operable units, with a cleanup plan first selected in 1991 and updated in 2010.

Sixteen contaminants of concern have been identified at the site. They include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as trichloroethene, vinyl chloride, toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, 1,1-dichloroethane, and 1,2-dichloroethene, along with tetrahydrofuran and the inorganic contaminant arsenic. These substances have been found in groundwater, surface water, soil, and sediment across the entire site. About 200 single-family homes sit within one mile of the property, and contaminated private wells were the primary health concern.

EPA's cleanup actions included removing all drums and 160 tons of contaminated soil, installing a groundwater interceptor trench to reduce contaminant flow, and running a soil vapor extraction system that cleared VOCs from the soil by December 1996. A two-mile water line extension, completed in August 2012, connected affected residents to a public water supply. From 2022 to 2024, an investigation found that PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) at the site broke down quickly and did not migrate off-site. No residential wells were impacted. Physical construction is complete across the entire site, human exposure pathways are under control, and groundwater migration is stabilized.

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) carries out ongoing groundwater sampling at monitoring wells and residential wells near the site. Institutional controls, which are legal restrictions on land use and excavation, remain in place to protect cleanup components and prevent unsafe uses of the property. EPA completed its sixth five-year review in August 2023, with the next review estimated for August through October 2028. A remedial investigation was completed in August 2024 as part of continued oversight. The site has not yet been deleted from the NPL.

Community members with questions can contact EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or the Remedial Project Manager. State-level questions can be directed to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES). Public documents are available online at www.epa.gov/superfund/mottolo and in person at the Dudley-Tucker Library in Raymond or the EPA Region 1 office in Boston.