Most of the proposed North Airfield expansion project is located within the Zone II wellhead protection area associated with the Town of Bedford’s drinking water supply wells.

There are two PFAS Superfund sites on the proposed North Airfield project site. PFAS refers to polyfluroalkyl substances that persist in their environment for a long time, and are known to be toxic to human health [1]. 

Superfund sites are locations polluted with hazardous materials designated by the US EPA for management and clean-up [2]. 

The two old Air Force (AF) burn pits are located on, or are intersected by, the eastern parcel that Massport has transferred to Runway Realty Ventures, LLC, in a Land Swap. 

The two PFAS sites were likely contaminated by firefighting foam used during firefighting practice in years past.

The burn pits are under active remediation by the AF Remedial Project as a source of PFAS contamination of the airfield groundwater. 

The three agencies below submitted Public Comments on the proposed North Airfield development and its potential impact on remediation efforts:

• US Air Force

• US EPA

• MassDEP

The two PFAS burn pits, along with several other PFAS sources on or near the airfield, are the subject of a new and urgent AF investigation into PFAS contamination at Hanscom Field.

In the fall of 2022, the Air Force Remediation Project reported disturbing news about its groundwater clean-up efforts at the Hanscom treatment plant which was set up in 1991 in Bedford to treat TCE (Trichloroethylene) under the airfield:  The Plant had inadvertently contaminated nearby surface waters with PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl substances) from beneath the airfield by discharging treated airfield groundwater (treated for TCE, not PFAS) into nearby wetlands.  Potentially impacted areas are shut down until the situation is fully assessed.