Upton residents are concerned about what has been described as a “noxious odor” in the area of town near the Grafton Upton Railroad.
Mike Polselli, from the rail yard advised the Board of Health (BOH) there is a new liquid asphalt customer shipping loaded railcars to the Upton yard located on Maple Ave.
According to Polselli, the odor is emitted from the top of the rail cars when the asphalt is transloaded from railcar to tanker truck. The railcars are heated on the steam line during the process.
Upton Fire/EMT Chief Ron Goodale recently visited and viewed the asphalt operation at the yard and noted there is a “noticeable smell at times from the heated asphalt depending on the wind direction.”
According to Goodale the asphalt is the same used in surfacing roads.
“There is no reason for immediate concern from a fire or hazardous materials perspective,” Goodale said.
According to what was reported to the BOH the asphalt operation is seasonal running mid April thru mid November.
