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Cleaned-Up Superfund Site to Benefit New Jersey Town

Release Date: 09/22/2008
Contact Information: Beth Totman (212) 637-3662, totman.elizabeth@epa.gov

(Edison, N.J.) Exhibiting the very spirit of the Superfund program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Regional Administrator, Alan J. Steinberg, joined Congressman Frank Pallone and Edison Township Mayor Jun Choi today in announcing the closure of the sale of a 5.7-acre property, which once was marked as a Superfund site, and will be put to productive use by the community of Edison Township, New Jersey. The Chemical Insecticide Corporation (CIC) Superfund site was home to a facility that had processed various pesticides, among other chemicals, for sixteen years, starting in 1954. EPA oversaw a cleanup that entailed excavation of contaminated soil and creek sediment and ground water monitoring.

“This is an excellent opportunity to redevelop a piece of land that was once contaminated by arsenic and pesticides, among other pollutants,” said Regional Administrator Alan J. Steinberg. “We have successfully cleaned up this site and the property can be put to good use for the benefit of Edison Township.”

The CIC site was used for formulating and manufacturing insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides and herbicides. EPA’s cleanup consisted of four stages that were set up to address different issues and types of contamination at the site. The first phase addressed immediate concerns of potential exposure to the site contaminants by placing a cap over contaminated soil to prevent direct contact and by implementing a system to prevent further flow of contaminated surface water into an unnamed tributary in Mill Brook. Another part of the cleanup dealt with contaminated sediments in the aforementioned portion of the Mill Brook. 13,800 cubic yards of contaminated sediments were excavated and disposed of off-site. Contaminated soil was also addressed through excavation and off-site disposal. EPA removed approximately 207,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil. The final phase includes a long-term ground water monitoring program to ensure that the contaminated ground water at the site, which does not pose a threat to the any existing potable water sources, continues to be limited in mobility and isolated.

The excavation of the contaminated soil on the property now allows for unrestricted future use of the land. Today’s event not only marked the success of the cleanup at the CIC site, but the potential for productive use of the land, now that the site has been addressed.

For more information about the CIC site, visit: https://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/0200517c.pdf. For more reading on EPA’s Superfund program, go to: https://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/.

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