OSWER/OSRTI 

Washington, DC 20460 

NATIONAL PRIORITIES LIST (NPL) 

***Proposed Site*** May 2014 

JARD COMPANY, INC. Bennington, Vermont

Bennington County

 Site Location:

Jard Company, Inc. (Jard) is an 11.26-acre property located at 259 Bowen Road in the town of Bennington, 

Bennington County, Vermont.

 Site History:

From 1969 to 1989, Jard operated on the property as a manufacturing facility making small capacitors, small non-fluid 

transformers and small motors. The property has remained vacant since Jard ceased operations in 1989. 

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which were used in the manufacturing process from 1969 to 1978, were found 

within the former building structure and soils on the property. There is also a contaminated ground water plume which 

begins on the Jard property and extends west parallel to the Walloomsac River (Roaring Branch) resulting in 

contamination to surrounding surface soils and sediments.

 Site Contamination/Contaminants:

The major contaminant of concern is PCBs. The contamination from the PCB-laden soil has passed into the ground

water beneath the property and has spread to surrounding properties. 

 Potential Impacts on Surrounding Community/Environment:

There are at least six residential properties and a nearby wetland that have potentially contaminated soil, ground water 

or indoor air resulting from sources on the Jard property. 

 Response Activities (to date):

Three response actions have been performed at this site. In 1991, at the request of the Vermont Department of 

Environmental Conservation (VTDEC), the EPA removed chemicals stored in drums and containers on site, removed 

contaminated sediments, cleaned out floor drains, removed outside contaminated soils with unacceptable levels of 

PCBs, and installed a perimeter fence and secured the building. After a fire on March 16, 1997, VTDEC and local 

officials requested the EPA to look further into conditions at the site. The EPA conducted a second removal action to 

remove additional contaminated soil, re-secure the building and repair the perimeter fence. In 2007, the VTDEC again 

asked the EPA to look at the site because of continued deterioration of the building and security fencing. At that time,

the EPA removed the facility building and some heavily contaminated surface soil and then put a dirt cap over the area 

of the former building to reduce the risk of direct contact with contaminated surface soil. 

 Need for NPL Listing:

The state of Vermont referred the site to the EPA because the contaminated ground water plume is affecting nearby 

properties and wetlands. Other cleanup alternatives were evaluated, but are not viable at this time because of the extent 

of contamination. The EPA received a letter of support for placing this site on the NPL from the state.

[The description of the site (release) is based on information available at the time the site was evaluated with the HRS. The description may 

change as additional information is gathered on the sources and extent of contamination. See 56 FR 5600, February 11, 1991, or subsequent 

FR notices.]

For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to 

these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on 

the Internet at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/index.asp or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.