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EPA Begins Next Phase of Cleanup at New Jersey Superfund Site

Release Date: 05/08/2008
Contact Information: Beth Totman (212) 637-3662, totman.elizabeth@epa.gov

(New York, N.Y.) --The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is progressing in its work at the Scientific Chemical Processing Superfund site (SCP) in Carlstadt, New Jersey. This week, EPA began the second phase of cleanup, which will address contaminated soil and shallow ground water on the site. The cleanup is being conducted in three phases. The first, which is already completed, addressed immediate threats to people and the environment.

“While EPA addressed the immediate risks at the site through the first phase of the cleanup, we are moving forward to ensure that contamination is fully dealt with,” said Alan J. Steinberg, Regional Administrator. “Starting this part of the cleanup puts EPA closer to achieving this goal.”

The six-acre site is located in a light industrial area in Carlstadt and was the former home to a waste processing facility that accepted various wastes for recovery and disposal. Operations ceased as a result of a court order issued in 1980, and some company officials received fines and jail terms for illegally dumping hazardous waste. Ground water under the site and some of the soil at the site are contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including benzene, chloroform, and trichloroethylene, as well as PCBs and heavy metals. The SCP site is bordered in the northeast by Peach Island Creek, a tidal waterway, that has been found to have contamination in both its sediment and surface water.

In phase one of the cleanup, EPA installed underground wall barriers around the property, put a temporary cap over contaminated soil, and constructed a ground water collection system that retrieved ground water for treatment off-site. These steps were taken to temporarily eliminate the possibility of people coming into direct contact with contaminated materials and to prevent contamination from SCP soil and shallow ground water from moving beyond the borders of the property.

Stage two of the cleanup will implement a final remedy to address the soil and shallow ground water that are contaminated at the site. Under this second phase, EPA will first treat the most contaminated area of soil and will then place a permanent cap over the entire site. The cap will consist of two impermeable layers, which will be placed directly over the contaminated soil and then covered with approximately 18 inches of clean top soil. The cap will then be seeded and planted to control erosion. EPA will also replace one of the barrier walls in order to stop ground water flow between the SCP site and Peach Island Creek. The second phase of the cleanup is expected to be completed no later than spring 2009.

In the third phase, EPA will focus on deeper ground water contamination on the SCP property, as well as off-property ground water contamination. Extensive investigations of the off-property ground water have been conducted and a final cleanup remedy for the ground water is expected to be selected in late 2008.

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