A decades-old underground storage tank at the former 7-Eleven store at the corner of A Street and Nantasket Avenue has delayed the potential sale of the property while soil contamination is cleaned up and monitoring wells installed.

**HEAP OF A JEEP**. The disabled SUV parked on the site of the closed 7-11 at A Street was used this week to train firefighters on rescues from vehicles that crashed or rolled over in an accident. Hull Police had received several calls reporting an abandoned or stolen vehicle in the parking lot of the abandoned store.

The building has been vacant since the 7-Eleven store closed in 2021. It previously housed a franchise of the Tedeschi Food Shops chain; A Street Liquors occupied the second unit before relocating across the street.

In June 2022, surveyors discovered a gasoline storage tank near the Nantasket Avenue border of the half-acre site, which is believed to remain from its previous use as the Waveland Garage from about 1922 through 1966. The gas station on the property contained at least three underground tanks over the years, according to property records reviewed by the environmental consultant hired to supervise the cleanup of hazardous materials.

A grocery store or convenience mart has been at the site since the late 1960s; 7-Eleven bought the property in 2016 when it took over the Tedeschi chain.

“The suspected source of the release is the UST [underground storage tank] that was removed in June 2023, combined with the historic use of the site as a gasoline service station,” according to the report by AECOM of Chelmsford. “As previously discussed, the UST was observed to be damaged upon removal.”

The consultant reported that seven 55-gallon drums of a mixture of gasoline and water were removed from the 1,000-gallon tank, along with 45 tons of soil and several groundwater samples. Three monitoring wells were installed in the excavated area on May 14, 2024.

The cleanup is being supervised by the state Department of Environmental Protection.

In the meantime, the town has used the property, which is across from Central Fire Station, for water distribution and firefighter training exercises.

Fire Chief Chris Russo said the disabled vehicle parked on site during the past few weeks was used this week to train firefighters on rescues from vehicles that crashed or rolled over in an accident. Hull Police had received several calls reporting an abandoned or stolen vehicle in the parking lot of the closed store.

-- Christopher Haraden

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