The Raymark facility is located on 33.4 acres on East Main Street next to Interstate 95. A public recreation park containing a baseball diamond and recreation field is located immediately northwest of the site. The Raymark facility operated at this location from 1919 until 1989, manufacturing asbestos brake linings and other automotive asbestos products. The facility operated as a hazardous waste generator and land disposal facility. Raymark Industries, Inc. is a RCRA subtitle C regulated facility which is currently subject to bankruptcy proceedings.
Hazardous waste produced on site includes lead-asbestos dust, metals and solvents.
From 1919 to July 1984, Raymark used a system of lagoons to capture waste lead and asbestos dust produced by its manufacturing process. Dredged materials from the lagoons were landfilled at numerous other locations in the town of Stratford, Connecticut. Interim actions intended to stabilize waste were initialized by Raymark and EPA at the Raymark facility and the ballfield in 1992. The presence of dioxins and other contaminants in Raymark waste has subsequently been confirmed. The advisory was based on the concern that people could be exposed to site-related contaminants through inhalation, direct dermal contact, ingestion of waste present in the soil, and consumption of potentially contaminated area seafood.