The New Town, Massachusetts area, encompassing ZIP code 02456, currently holds a critical environmental hazard designation due to extensive localized industrial contamination. This region contains a high density of environmental risks, with ten recognized hazard sites within a five-mile radius and twenty-one within ten miles. Notably, the Agway/Kress Property operates under an active National Priorities List status, situated approximately 1.9 miles from the center. Other active proximate hazards include the Shaffer Landfill and Watertown Bemis Dump, both located less than a mile away.

The Environmental Protection Agency classifies the primary pollutants at the Agway/Kress Property as unspecified hazardous substances. While the exact chemical composition remains broadly categorized, exposure to such industrial waste mixtures typically presents severe health risks, including respiratory irritation, neurological impairment, and elevated long-term chronic disease probabilities. Because the Agway/Kress Property remains in the active remediation and monitoring stage of the federal Superfund cleanup process, containment efforts are ongoing and subsurface chemical migration remains a distinct possibility.

Given the active nature of these hazardous sites and the density of nearby facilities like the W.R. Grace & Co. Acton Plant, residents must implement strict environmental precautions. Households drawing from private wells must immediately schedule comprehensive annual water testing through a state-certified laboratory to detect volatile organic compounds and heavy metals. Residents should install high-efficiency particulate air filtration systems to mitigate potential airborne particulate matter originating from active earthwork at these remediation sites. Finally, individuals must strictly avoid recreational activities, soil disruption, and foraging near the demarcated boundaries of the Agway/Kress Property and surrounding landfills to prevent direct dermal contact with contaminated soil.