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Sherwin Williams in Gibbsboro, New Jersey Added to Federal Superfund List

Release Date: 03/19/2008
Contact Information: Beth Totman (212) 637-3662, totman.elizabeth@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y.) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is adding the Sherwin-Williams/Hilliards Creek site in Gibbsboro, New Jersey to the National Priorities List (NPL) of the most serious hazardous waste sites identified for possible long-term cleanup under the federal Superfund program. Adding the Sherwin-Williams/Hilliards Creek site to the list will up New Jersey’s NPL site tally to 115 sites. The soil and the ground water beneath the former paint manufacturing site are contaminated, as well as some sediment in and near Hilliards Creek.

“Adding this property to the NPL is a step in the right direction because EPA can now focus on further investigation of the site and cleaning it up,” said Alan J. Steinberg, Regional Administrator. “Our goal is to one-by-one identify hazardous sites and combat the contamination that we find; we are eager to move the process along at this site.”

Between 1849 and 1976, the Lucas Paint Works Plant manufactured white lead paints, varnishes and lacquers. Sherwin Williams acquired the property in 1930 and operated the plant until about 1981, when the property was sold and developed into a light industrial complex called “The Paint Works Corporate Center.” While the property was being developed, contamination was found seeping through the ground water. Investigations into the source of the ground water contamination showed high levels of various contaminants including lead and volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds commonly found in paint.

Sediments in the nearby Hilliards Creek are contaminated with lead and soil and sediment samples collected from the creek’s flood plain, which includes a residential property, is also contaminated by lead. Additionally, lead-contaminated sediment has been found in more outlying wetlands areas connected with Hilliards Creek, which flows through residential areas and the Gibbsboro Nature Preserve.

To find out more about the NPL Site Listing process, visit: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/npl_hrs.htm. For more information about Superfund sites in New Jersey, visit https://www.epa.gov/region02/cleanup/sites/njtoc_name.htm.

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