History
From 1970 to 1989, GE Aerospace, a Lockheed Martin heritage company, operated its Aerospace Instruments Control Systems Department.
- The site is in a 13‑acre industrial park at 50 Fordham Road in Wilmington, Mass. and spans the towns of Wilmington and North Reading.
- While Lockheed Martin no longer owns the property, it retains responsibility for environmental cleanup associated with the former GE Aerospace business.
- In November 1999, private citizens petitioned the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to have the four sites so named in accordance with Massachusetts Law.
Remediation
Contamination at the site first came to the attention of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) in early 1986.
- The Department was investigating sources of contaminants in the Stickney Well, a public water well located 500-feet east of the site. Over time, four areas of concern were identified at the Fordham Road site.
- Consequently, in October 1987 the MDEP classified the property as a “priority disposal site.”
Cleanup
Site cleanup began before the MDEP designation.
- Nine underground storage tanks were removed, and the pipeline to the last remaining underground storage tank, Tank E, was repaired.
- Wetlands near Outfalls 1 and 2 were cleaned up and restored in 2004. Vegetation regrowth in the restored area was monitored for five years to assure that the cleanup was effective.
Area of Wetland Well GZA14, looking back toward Eastern Parking Lot.
Operations
The Tank Farm pump-and-treat system operated until early 2002, when it was shut down.
- It was replaced in August 2003 by a second pump-and-treat system at the property line.
- The pump-and-treat system was shut down temporarily in 2008 and remains shut down pending assessment of groundwater conditions.
- In 2000, Lockheed Martin contracted with an environmental consulting firm to assume authority for the cleanup of the Fordham Road site. Lockheed Martin resumed direct responsibility in late summer 2011.
Site Reassessment
The geology of the site and surrounding region is complex, reflecting ancient glacial activity.
- The Fordham Road site is one of four designated as Public Involvement Plan (PIP) sites, in the Wilmington, Reading and North Reading area.
- In 2013 Lockheed Martin proposed to the MDEP and the nearby community that it use recently developed techniques to further evaluate if and how the contaminants at the Fordham Road site are migrating into the adjacent wetlands.
Well Installation
MDEP renewed Lockheed Martin’s permit to perform the work in 2014.
- Lockheed Martin’s contractors installed additional monitoring wells in a number of locations on site and in the wetlands east of the site in North Reading.
- All wells were sealed at the surface and their locations
documented by survey. Groundwater from the newly installed wells has been sampled for the primary contaminants of concern.
- Restoration will be completed in the spring of 2015.
Supplemental Site Assessment
The additional data being collected from the supplemental site assessment will make it possible for Lockheed Martin to update and improve its understanding of the level of risk associated with contaminants at the site and reevaluate potential remedial actions.
- The MDEP approved Lockheed Martin’s request for more time to complete its characterization of the extent of contamination at the site; the extension was granted to May 3, 2017.
Recent Documents
Post - Temporary Solution Status Report Number 15, November 2024
Post - Temporary Solution Status Report Number 14, May 2024
Post - Temporary Solution Status Report Number 13, November 2023
Post - Temporary Solution Status Report Number 12, May 2023
View the Wilmington Document Archive
If You Have Questions, Please Contact Corporate Communications at 800.449.4486
View a List of Terms Commonly Used in Relation to General Environmental Remediation Efforts
Community Information
If you have questions, please contact Lockheed Martin Communications.
lm.communications@lmco.com
800.449.4486
Timeline
1970 to 1989 - GE Aerospace operated its Aerospace Instruments Control Systems Department
1986 -Contamination at the site first came to the attention of the MDEP
1986 - Two underground storage tanks were removed and six more were removed the following June.
October 1987 - MDEP classified the property as a “priority disposal site.”
1989 - GE Aerospace sold the property to Wilmington Realty Trust
1991 - One additional tank was removed
February 1992 - GE began collecting and treating groundwater in the tank farm area and removing the Stoddard solvent
2000 - A soil-vapor extraction system was installed in the Tank K area
2000 - Lockheed Martin contracted with an environmental consulting firm to assume authority for the cleanup of the Fordham Road site.
2002 - The Tank Farm pump-and-treat system was shut down
August 2003 - A second pump-and-treat system was placed at the property line
2004 - Wetlands near Outfalls 1 and 2 were cleaned up and restored
2011 - Building 3 and the oil house at the site were demolished
2011 - Lockheed Martin resumed direct responsibility
2013 - Lockheed Martin proposed that it use recently developed techniques to further evaluate the site
November 1, 2013 - Supplemental Phase II Scope of Work is released.
2014 - MDEP renewed Lockheed Martin’s permit to perform the work and installed additional monitoring wells
Spring of 2015 - Additional comprehensive sampling was conducted
July 13, 2015 - Notice of Activity and Use Limitations is released
August 26, 2015 - Addendum to the November 1, 2013 Supplemental Phase II Scope of Work is released.
2015 - Restoration work completed
July 1, 2016 -Groundwater Flow Study Work Plan is released
April 2017 - The Phase 2 CSA, Phase 3 RAP, and the Temporary Solution are released.
2018 - 2024- The Post Temporary Solution Status Reports 1 through 15 are released.