Chelmsford, Massachusetts - Archive

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

New England Regional Laboratory (NERL)

This page houses older environmental information about EPA's New England Regional Laboratory in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. View the facility's current facility page.

Green Power

In August 2005, EPA renewed its commitment to supporting green power by entering into a three-year contract with Select Energy (procured by the Defense Energy Support Center ) to purchase 3 million kWh of green power annually for its Chelmsford, Massachusetts, laboratory in the form of renewable energy certificates (RECs). This contract supported the generation of renewable energy from wind farms in South Dakota, North Dakota, and Wyoming, and offset 100 percent of the electricity consumption at NERL.
For three years (from 2001 through 2004), EPA obtained RECs for 100 percent of the Chelmsford laboratory's electricity consumption. This procurement supported the generation of green power at Green Mountain Utility's Searsburg wind farm in Vermont and a wind power source in New York.

Water Conservation

In FY 2003, two waterless urinals were installed, reducing the use of potable water for sewage conveyance by more than 22 percent.

Waste Reduction and Recycling

In June 2002, NERL received the 2002 White House Closing the Circle Award for its recycling efforts and integrated sustainable design.
To complement the affirmative procurement and reuse efforts of the NERL construction project, a massive on-site recycling effort was initiated. This recycling effort included the provision of bins for construction and demolition debris (e.g., concrete, brick, asphalt), metals (e.g., metal studs, duct-work, pipe), cardboard (e.g., boxes, packing materials), clean wood (e.g., scrap wood, pallets, packing materials), plastics (e.g., packing materials, bottles, food packaging), glass, gypsum drywall, carpet, rigid foam insulation, and general refuse. In particular, all soil and gravel within the limit of work was stockpiled and graded for later reuse as fill or loam. Blasted rock out-croppings were crushed with an on-site processing plant, avoiding an estimated 785 dump truck loads.
The recycling efforts resulted in more than 50 percent of the solid waste generated from construction being diverted from the landfill and recycled.

Green Purchasing

Extensive use of recycled content and recovered materials during construction not only saved considerable physical resources, but has also resulted in cost savings of more than $10,000.