Falling metal prices forces contractor to abandon foundry demolition project.
Easton – The on-again, off-again demolition and clean up of the old Belcher Foundry is off again.
The Total Group – the company hired to raze the buildings and haul away the scrap metal – has walked away from the project due to falling metal prices and the added expense of removing and disposing of hazardous materials at the site. “They pulled out,” Health Agent Mark Taylor told the Board of Health Tuesday night.
The malleable iron foundry closed its 175-year old Easton operation in 2007, leaving the site vulnerable to trespassers and scrap metal thieves. It was slated for demolition in July.
But on July 13, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection stopped demolition after the main building collapsed and sent plumes of black soot into the air and onto area homes and businesses.
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