The Stamina Mills site covers about 5 acres in North Smithfield, Rhode Island. It operated as a textile mill from the early 1800s until it closed in 1975 and burned down in 1977. In 1969, a solvent system using trichloroethylene was installed to clean fabric, and an unknown quantity of that chemical spilled the same year. The site was added to the National Priorities List (NPL) on September 8, 1983, making it a federal Superfund site requiring formal cleanup.
Contaminants are found in soil, groundwater, and sediment. The main concern is trichloroethylene, a volatile organic compound (VOC), along with related compounds such as tetrachloroethene, vinyl chloride, and 1,1-dichloroethene. The site also contains metals including arsenic, lead, copper, and zinc, as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), chloroform, dieldrin, and other chemicals. The original spill contaminated private drinking water wells in the surrounding area. Rhode Island and the town responded starting in 1981 by connecting affected homes to a public water supply, finishing that work by 1987.
Cleanup construction began in the early 1990s and finished in August 2000. Work included removing underground and aboveground tanks, excavating a landfill, installing soil vapor extraction systems, fencing the property, and demolishing structures. In 2021, the EPA completed removal of hazardous asbestos from the former mill office building. The potentially responsible parties, operating through contractors such as Ensafe Inc. on behalf of Kayser-Roth Corporation, continue to run groundwater extraction and treatment systems using multiphase extraction, air stripping, and carbon filtration. They have also conducted bioremediation trials using vegetable oil and iron to reduce trichloroethylene levels in the source area, with a second round of injections expanding the treatment area.
The site reached "sitewide ready for anticipated reuse" status in October 2009. Human exposure to contamination is currently under control, and contaminated groundwater migration is stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. Town ordinances and deed restrictions prohibit new groundwater wells and regulate land use. Vapor intrusion studies found no exposure issues. The EPA completed its fifth Five-Year Review on August 29, 2025, confirming that response actions protect public health and the environment. The site has not yet been deleted from the NPL.
Community members can contact the EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator, Aaron Shaheen, for questions about the site. Documents are available at the North Smithfield Public Library in Slatersville and through the EPA Region 1 records center in Boston. Redevelopment options were discussed with town and state officials in 2016 and can be further explored through the EPA site contacts.
