Arms Park Brownfield Assessment

At a glance

• What: Environmental assessment of the 4.32 acre Arms Park parking lot, the former Arms Textile mill site on the Merrimack River where a deadly 1957 anthrax outbreak occurred.
• Where it stands: Phase one and two assessments found no anthrax and only ordinary urban fill, plus chlorinated solvents in deep groundwater from upstream mills that are manageable with vapor systems.
• Next: Nothing planned; stakeholder talks with mill yard permit users would come first.

August 4, 2026 presentation

• Prolman (Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission, EPA Brownfields grant) and Newcomb (Credere Associates) reported that soil and groundwater testing, including field anthrax test kits and duplicate samples at the University of Florida, found no anthrax. Fill is considered background by DES; some soil may need landfill disposal during development. A soil management plan and remedial action plan were prepared.
• Nazaka said the lot is City owned (green space belongs to Parks and Recreation; the parking lot to City Parking), the 2021 Master Plan envisioned a riverwalk, parking garage and mixed use, and nothing is planned.
• History given: the site was part of the Amoskeag mill complex and later Arms Textile; nine people fell ill and four died in the fall of 1957 from contaminated imported goat hair; the plant was decontaminated in 1971 (interior chlorinated, bricks re-chlorinated and buried elsewhere) and demolished by 1976. The phase one study was a records review; commercial laboratories rarely test for anthrax, so the team worked with the University of Florida. The property owners upstream are doing their own investigations of the solvents.
• Fajardo asked about ownership; Kaw-uh asked what comes next, and Nazaka said stakeholder talks with mill yard users who rent permit spaces would come first. The presentation followed a resident's question at the July meeting about development potential.
• Terrio asked how long anthrax lasts; Newcomb guessed 70 to 100 years but said the building was chlorinated and demolished.

Sources

• Board of Mayor and Aldermen minutes, August 4, 2026: https://manchesternh.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=5246,plainText=false)

Log

2026-08-04 - Board of Mayor and Aldermen

Assessment results presented; information only.