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EPA Places Three More Sites on Final Superfund National Priorities List in New Jersey

Release Date: 10/21/1999
Contact Information: Richard Cahill (212) 637-3666 / [email protected]

(#99167) NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) placed three sites in New Jersey on the final Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) of the nation's most hazardous waste sites. The sites are the Lightman Drum Co. property in Winslow Township, McGuire Air Force Base in Burlington County and the Iceland Coin Laundry Area Ground Water Plume in the City of Vineland. EPA proposed these three sites for addition to the NPL on July 26 of this year.

"The final listings of the sites in Winslow Township and Vineland are significant because it makes those sites eligible for federal funds for any long-term cleanups needed to protect public health and the environment. Although the cleanup at McGuire has already been started by the Air Force, its listing and EPA's oversight will ensure that the results of the final action will be consistent with Superfund cleanup goals," EPA Regional Administrator Jeanne M. Fox said.

What follows are descriptions of the three new final NPL sites in New Jersey. The total number of federal Superfund NPL sites in the state is currently114.

The LIGHTMAN DRUM COMPANY site, located in Winslow Township along Route 73, recycled drums by emptying their old contents into a pit at the rear of the property before sending them to another location for cleaning. In the 1970s, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) took legal action to force the company to upgrade its disposal methods. In the 1980s, the facility was granted a temporary one year permit to receive and store specific types of waste before sending these wastes to an approved hazardous waste facility for final disposal. The company consolidated chemical residues in underground storage tanks, drums, and trailers. Numerous violations occurred during this period of operation, which led to the denial of Lightman's application to continue as an interim hazardous waste storage facility.

In 1987, NJDEP monitoring and legal actions led to the discovery and investigation of volatile organic chemical and heavy metals contamination in the soils on the site. NJDEP supervised subsequent investigations of the contamination by the company. The investigations documented that the groundwater underlying the site was contaminated with hazardous substances as a result of the company's operations.

The McGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE site (MAFB), an active facility that occupies more than 3,500 acres in a rural area of Burlington County, is bordered to the north by the community of Wrightstown, and to the east, south, and west by the U.S. Army's Fort Dix military installation. MAFB is located within the boundaries of the Pinelands National Reserve. Past activities at MAFB created a number of waste disposal areas of potential environmental concern. Substances found include volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), inorganic hazardous substances and heavy metals, which were found on portions of the base in surface soil, subsurface soil, waste, leachate, groundwater, surface water and sediments. Under its Installation Restoration Program, the Department of Defense had already begun environmental sampling and cleanup at the McGuire Air Force Base.

The ICELAND COIN LAUNDRY AREA GROUNDWATER PLUME site is an area of contaminated groundwater in a commercial/residential area of the City of Vineland that encompasses South Delsea Drive, Dirk Drive, Garrison Road, Lois Lane, South Orchard Road, West Elmer Road, and West Korff Drive. The Vineland City Health Department collected drinking water well samples from 55 residences located in the area between December 1990 and September 1991. The sampling showed the presence of VOCs, primarily tetrachloroethylene (PCE), above the state and federal safety levels in 16 wells. In response to the private well contamination, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) installed individual treatment systems at the affected residences as a temporary remedial measure until public supply water mains could be extended to the area. Public supply water mains were extended to these areas in 1994. Currently, not all residences are connected to the public supply.

During 1995 and1996, the NJDEP conducted an expanded site investigation of soil and groundwater at the former Iceland Coin Laundry and Dry Cleaning property and found that it is a source of PCE contamination. The investigation also found PCE contamination in groundwater upgradient of the Iceland property. This suggests the possibility of other sources contaminating the groundwater.

Members of the public interested in obtaining copies of the site descriptions, please contact the RCRA/Superfund Hotline at 1-800-424-9346 or 703-412-9810. Further information about the sites and the Superfund program can also be obtained from EPA's homepage: www.epa.gov/superfund.

For more information contact:

Richard Cahill, Press Office
EPA Region 2
290 Broadway
NY, NY 10007-1866
Voice: 212-637-3666 FAX: 212-637-5046 E-Mail: [email protected]