The Stratford Health Department said May 21 that emergency response teams from both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection were stabilizing soils that were disturbed at the site.

That work is now done, Health Director Lisa Pippa said Tuesday.

“The primary concern with soils on and near 340 East Main St. is the potential for one of the contaminants, asbestos, to become airborne,” the Health Department stated in a press release May 21.

“Asbestos is only a concern if it is breathed into the lungs. While it is possible that people working in the immediate area where the digging occurred may have been exposed to the soil containing Raymark waste on Monday, officials from the Connecticut Department of Public Health and the Stratford Health Department believe it is very unlikely that conditions at the 340 East Main St. site were dry enough to create any significant amounts of dust,” the release stated.

The potential for exposure lasted only while the excavation was active. But Save Stratford was unhappy that the public was not informed sooner.

“The fact that our children can no longer walk down certain streets without potentially being exposed to known hazardous materials is unacceptable,” the group wrote in a press release.

“There was no imminent health risk to notify people,” Pippa said. If the situation were severe enough to detour children around the area, it also would have required evacuating the area, she said.

Nearby businesses were notified, Pippa said last week and reiterated Tuesday.

The Health Department offered this advice: “If windows or doors were open during when digging occurred and dust is visible on windowsills, it can be removed through ordinary cleaning with a damp mop or cloth,” adding that it was “purely a precautionary suggestion.”

The EPA Emergency Response Team installed a crushed stone road to allow heavy equipment to safely drive into the back of the property. Bare soil areas were watered to suppress dust, then a permeable filter fabric covered any exposed soils.

Air monitoring stations have been posted around the perimeter to measure dust levels. If dust levels are detected, additional steps will be taken to keep down dust.

In addition, a silt fence will be erected to ensure the soil stays in place.

Signs will be posted on the fence warning against trespassing and potential health risks.

The East Main Street property is one of more than 25 remaining sites in Stratford awaiting a final remedy as part of the Raymark Industries Inc. Superfund site.

The waste was generated by the former Raymark Industries Inc., a manufacturer of brakes, clutches and other automotive parts. Historically, byproducts were used as fill in residential, commercial and municipal areas across Stratford. The hallmark of Raymark waste is lead and asbestos and either polychlorinated biphenyls or copper.

“The EPA’s substandard, inadequately funded plan to date does not permanently fix the Raymark waste problem nor does it meet the EPA’s own basic design standards for the proper disposal of toxic material,” Save Stratford also stated in its release.

That much had been said during a meeting April 15 at the Birdseye Municipal Complex. Residents, the Health Department, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, the federal Environmental Protection Agency and local officials gathered for an update that revealed little progress toward a comprehensive solution.

Some asserted that all of the soil contaminated by asbestos and either polychlorinated biphenyls or copper be trucked elsewhere, only to be told that was cost-prohibitive. It also would involve trucks hauling tons of waste through residential neighborhoods.

Debate over which areas to remediate first pits neighbor against neighbor.

Those who called for the removal of all contaminated soil from Stratford were told that was cost-prohibitive. Those who want the waste removed from residential neighborhoods disagree on where to start. Consolidation onto a local site opens additional debates over why and where.

And EPA officials said that until the initial money allocated for remediation is spent, no additional funds would be forthcoming.

“The EPA and State DEP need to provide the Town of Stratford with a fully funded, comprehensive clean-up proposal that removes all or as much of the toxic waste as possible. Only then will this problem be truly solved. Anything short of this is grossly negligent,” Save Stratford stated.

“I truly appreciate the efforts of the State of Connecticut Attorney General for his efforts in this matter,” Councilman Gavin Forrester III (D-3rd) said. “He has once again indicated how he is truly a champion to preserve the health and safety of all Connecticut residents, and especially the citizens of Stratford, against the toxic waste left behind by the Raymark Corp.

“It once again highlights that the issue of Raymark waste remediation has taken years too long to address, and that we need the DEP and EPA to accelerate the process and to take into consideration the concerns and suggestions raised by Save Stratford so we can finally get these sites re-mediated.”