Plainfield got a $200,000 federal grant to assess how much environmental cleanup may be needed to restore the former InterRoyal mill site to developable use, authorities say.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency funded the grant, Congressman Joe Courtney’s office announced Wednesday.
Courtney said in a statement the 16-acre site “represents a major source of blight for the Village Center of Plainfield” that has been identified by the town’s master planners as a potential anchor for other investments in the center.
He said the mill site poses “a significant threat” to public health as the brooks that pass through the site have been identified with groundwater contamination with chromium, nickel and other volatile, potentially cancer-causing toxins.”
The remaining buildings on the site have been identified with asbestos, mercury and lead-based paint, he said.
The mill, built in the early 1900s, went bankrupt in 1985. According to EPA, except for a plastic recycling operation by another party in a portion of the property in 1991-1992, the site has been inactive since then.
In 2000-2001, a demolition contractor razed portions of the mill complex to recover usable building materials, the agency said on its website. However, demolition was halted when it was discovered that asbestos-containing material had been mixed in with the other building debris.
On April 26, 2005 a fire destroyed the three-story section of the mill, located on the northern portion of the property, EPA said. The single-story section of the mill, located on the southern portion of the property, was not affected by the fire.
