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The tie between the Keddy Mill and what we learned in class was human impact on the environment. In the Lorax, the Oncler's mill polluted the water and put smog in to the air. The Keddy mill also polluted the water, but with PCB and waste opposed to sludge. At one point in time the Keddy Mill also put smog and gases into the air. What the humans did in both situations was change some of the things in the environment around them. Over time  the plants in and around the Keddy Mill property have changed because of the pollution. They went from having rich soil with healthy plants and trees to having bad soil that contained PCB which has gotten in to the plants growing there. Both biotic and abiotic factors have changed there, like the air, animals, and plants. PCB is an airborn chemical as well which affected the air around the workers before the mill was shut down.

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ATSDR Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease registry. Public Health Assessment For Keddy Mill Site Windham, Cumberland County, Maine.

August 18th 2015 http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha/KeddyMillSite/KeddyMillSite_PHA%20(PC)%20_%2008-18-2015_508.pdf. Accessed

November 10th 2016

EPA US Environmental Protection Agency. Search Superfund Sites Where You Live, August 12, 2016

https://www.epa.gov/superfund/search-superfund-sites-where-you-live. Accessed November 10th 2016

EPA US Environmental Protection Agency. EPA Superfund Program: KEDDY MILL, WINDHAM, ME. September 17th 2016

https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0106078. Accessed November 10th 2016

Portland Press Herald. South Windham’s Keddy Mill added to list of Superfund sites. May 8th 2014

http://www.pressherald.com/2014/05/08/windham_s_keddy_mill_added_to_superfund_list/. Accessed November 10th 2016

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Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled, hazardous abandoned waste sites. The Keddy Mill is one of seven sites added to the National Priorities List of Superfund sites. The total amount of superfund sites in the US is roughly about 1,400. In maine alone we have 16 of them including the Keddy Mill, Leeds Metal (Leeds, Mckin CO. (Gray), and more.

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The mill is located on on the Presumpscot River. When the mill was in business tons and tons of material found its way to the river whether it was dumped in it or fell into the water during the destruction of the other sites.The PCB from the mill has been found in the local fish supply. A group of scientists did multiple studies to see if the fish were contaminated with it and to see if the fish could cause a potential health problem to the anglers consuming the fish. The fish tested positive and do contain PCB. The scientists say that the level of PCB in the fish is low but still enough to potentially be harmful to humans. One fish every week wouldn't hurt, it would actually help your immune system get used to and control the PCB. More then one fish a week could potentially make you sick because your immune system would be exposed to more PCB than it could handle.

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PCB has had a huge impact on the environment in and around the mill. In the mill, multiple plant species have been found including moss, trees, and other over grown weeds. All the plants have PCB in them because the soil in which these plants have been growing is contaminated with PCB. The mill is located on the Presumpscot River.

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The mill used certain lubricants and oils in turning machines during the years they were making metal products. The oils were good at the time but were later determined to contain PCB's (polychlorinated biphenyls). These PCB's contaminated of 55,000 tons of material. It was found in the metal filling which were burned on site. The mill was shut down 42 years ago because PCB turned out to be potentially harmful to human and animals, possibly causing cancer and other health effects.

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The Keddy Mill in South Windham is and old abandoned mill that is the last standing building on its site.  The site the mill is on started its industrial use in 1756. The mill wasn't the only building on the site at one point. The site used to have  a sawmill, grist and wool carding mill, wood pulp and boxboard manufacturing, steel manufacturing and fabrication of heavy equipment buckets, manufacturing of fire suppression piping and materials, a small machine shop, and equipment storage. All structures were demolished except the Keddy Mill which is still standing too this day.The mill was built in the 1940's to turn scrap metal into metal products like flanges. The mill has three floors and a complete basement. The Mill will eventually be torn down in an estimated ten years. The town manager said the mill will cost roughly about 10 million dollars to clean up.

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Windham, Maine

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A former mill in South Windham has been added to the federal list of Superfund sites for hazardous waste cleanup, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday.

The Keddy Mill was one of seven sites across the nation that were added to the National Priorities List of Superfund sites.

Superfund is the federal program that investigates and cleans up the most complex, uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous-waste sites.

The site of the Keddy Mill, which once made paper and later made steel flanges, contains an estimated 55,000 tons of material contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls, PCBs, from oils used in turning machines and contained in metal filings that were buried on the site.

PCBs have been shown to cause cancer and have other adverse health effects in animals and potentially in humans, according to the EPA.

"I don't think anyone who lives in Windham wants to have their town listed on a Superfund site because it conjures up this image of a huge, industrial wasteland," Town Manager Tony Plante said Thursday night.

But Plante said the federal designation is good news for South Windham and the Little Falls neighborhood in Gorham - the two villages are bisected by the Presumpscot River - because it could lead to a cleanup of the mill site by the previous owner.

Plante said Windham has been working with residents of the neighborhood since the 1990s on a revitalization plan that would feature single- or multi-family homes, and shops.

The EPA will now begin an extensive environmental review and start trying to determine which parties were responsible for the contamination to get them to pay for the cleanup.

Plante gave an estimate of $10 million to clean up the Keddy Mill property.

Windham's Economic Development Director Tom Bartell has said the cleanup might not happen for another 10 years, depending on when money becomes available.

The mill closed 40 years ago.

"It's a process that will likely take some years to complete," Plante said. "I wouldn't want to get peoples' hopes up."

David Tobin, 82, has lived all his life within "a stone's throw" of the Keddy Mill. His great-grandfather was a foreman on the crew that built the mill.

Tobin, a former town councilor and state legislator in Windham, said he doesn't mind waiting a bit longer for good things to happen at the 7-acre site off Depot Street. He prefers that the Keddy Mill be converted into a park but realizes that might not be the best use.

"That mill has been a black mark on our neighborhood. If we can get this straightened out, it would be a good thing for us," Tobin said.

Other sites added to the Superfund list Thursday are a former oil refinery in Arkansas, two ground water plumes in Nebraska, a former chemical manufacturer in New Jersey, a former metal extraction facility in New York and a former machine screw products manufacturer in Tennessee.
Staff Writer Dennis Hoey contributed to this report. Leslie Bridgers can be contacted at 791-6364 or at: Twitter: @lesliebridgers

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South Windham's Keddy Mill added to list of Superfund sites

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A former mill in South Windham has been added to the federal list of Superfund sites for hazardous waste cleanup, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday. The Keddy Mill was one of seven sites across the nation that were added to the National Priorities List of Superfund sites.