The Site is the location of a large former mill complex originally constructed in the early 1900s and most recently used by the Inter Royal Corporation to manufacture office furniture. Inter Royal shut down operations in 1985 due to bankruptcy, and except for a plastic recycling operation by another party in a portion of the Site in 1991-1992, the Site has been inactive since then. The Site had been without electricity, heat, water, and fire protection since it was abandoned, and the entire mill had fallen into an advanced state of decay. In 2000-2001, a demolition contractor razed portions of the mill complex in an effort to recover usable building materials. This demolition work was halted when it was discovered that asbestos-containing material had been mixed in with the other building debris.
On April 26, 2005 a fire destroyed the three-story section of the mill, located on the northern portion of the property. The single-story section of the mill, located on the southern portion of the property, was not affected by the fire.
Friable asbestos in pipe and boiler insulation and lead in ash and surface soils in the area of the fire-damaged, former three-story structure posed a direct contact threat to local residents and those who may enter the Site. As the Site is located in the center of the Town, potential receptors could include the entire nearby community. The estimated population within a one-quarter mile radius of the Site is 589 people, and within a one-mile radius, 2973 people.
