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EPA Proposes Three More Sites To The Superfund National Priorities List in New Jersey, Places Three More on Final List

Release Date: 07/26/1999
Contact Information: Rich Cahill (212) 637-3666 / [email protected]

(#99118) NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to add three new sites in New Jersey to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL), the list of the nation's most hazardous waste sites. The proposed 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 site in the City of Vineland. Proposed sites are investigated further to determine the extent of the risks they may pose to human health and the environment. The Agency also placed three NPL sites in New Jersey on the final list, making them eligible for federally-funded, long-term cleanups. These are the United States Avenue Burn site in Gibbsboro, the Emmells Septic Landfill site in Galloway Township and the Martin Aaron site in the City of Camden.

"The proposed listing of the non-federal sites in New Jersey means that EPA can begin a full-blown evaluation of the extent and nature of the contamination at each site. The final listings are significant because they make those sites eligible for federal funds, if needed. The agency is also undertaking a removal of hazardous materials at the finalized sites in Galloway Township and in Camden to eliminate the more immediate risks to public health and the environment posed by these sites," EPA Regional Administrator Jeanne M. Fox said.

The following is a description of the three proposed NPL sites in New Jersey to be proposed for the NPL, which bring the total of federal Superfund NPL sites in the state to114.

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 #1 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 on the base. 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, and not associated with, the Iceland property. This suggests the possibility of other sources contaminating the groundwater.

The following is a description of the three sites in New Jersey placed on the final NPL:

The UNITED STATES AVENUE BURN site consists of three areas of contamination: the Burn Area, the Burn Landfill, and the railroad track, which are located on contiguous properties west of Bridgewood Lake in Gibbsboro. The Burn Area was used as disposal and burn site for paint wastes generated at the Sherwin-Williams facility. The Burn Landfill was used for the disposal of paint wastes, municipal waste and the storage of sludge generated from the former paint company's wastewater treatment plant. The operations at the site closed down in 1977. EPA investigations of the site in the 1990s found heavy metal and chemical contamination in the soils, sediments and wetlands in and around the landfill. Under EPA oversight, starting in July 1997, Sherwin-Williams removed 1960 tons of soil contaminated with paint pigments as well as 1850 gallons of hazardous liquids, and more than 2700 gallons of non-hazardous liquids.

The EMMELLS SEPTIC LANDFILL site covers 38 acres and is bordered by Zurich Avenue to the north and woodlands to the south, east and west. An April 1975 solid waste facility permit issued to Emmells indicated that the site was to be used for the land application of septic and sewage sludge wastes. Inspections at the site by state officials noted the presence of household garbage, tire piles, paint sludges, gas cylinders and construction/industrial wastes. From 1984 to 1988, the Atlantic County Health Department collected groundwater samples from private residential drinking water supply wells in the vicinity of the site that showed the presence of organic hazardous substances. The contaminated drinking water wells were closed and deeper water supply replacement wells were drilled. In 1996, ground water investigations were conducted at the site by both Galloway Township and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), confirming that organic hazardous substances were being released into the groundwater.

EPA will begin a Superfund action at the site this week to remove buried drums and contaminated soil, as well as cylinders and drums scattered around the surface of the site. The agency has budgeted close to $1 million to carry out the action which should be completed within six months to a year.

The MARTIN AARON, INC. site is in a mixed industrial and residential section of Camden. Martin Aaron, Inc. purchased the property in 1969 and operated a drum reconditioning facility on the site until 1985. A trucking company currently uses the property for the storage and transfer of trailers. Martin Aaron, Inc. still owns the property. Solvent-type odors were noted during New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) inspections and off-site reconnaissances in 1986 and 1988 and are believed to have originated from drum cleaning operations. Sampling conducted by the NJDEP between 1986 and 1998 identified VOCs and inorganic substances in site sewer basins and drums, including high concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, mercury, selenium, barium, chromium and lead. VOCs and inorganic contaminants have also been detected in soils throughout the property. In response to its findings, NJDEP removed approximately 1,000 55-gallon drums and other waste materials from the site. After this action, the state inspected the site and found several drums of chemicals illegally dumped at the southwester perimeter of the site and contacted EPA for federal Superfund assistance in March of this year.

EPA has budgeted $420, 000 to conduct a Superfund action at the site which will include over packing the deteriorated drums recently discovered by NJDEP, upgrading site security by repairing the fence around the site. EPA will also sample and characterize the hazardous waste materials and contaminated soil at the site and arrange for their safe removal and disposal at licensed off-site facilities. Together, these actions should remove most of the source of contamination emanating from the site to the groundwater. EPA estimates the work could be completed in three to six months after the agency brings its personnel and cleanup equipment to the site and expects the project to start later this summer or in early Fall.

EPA is soliciting public comments on the sites proposed for the NPL by the publication of a notice in the Federal Register on July 22, 1999. The publication starts a 60-day public comment period. Members of the public interested in obtaining copies of the notice, an updated NPL list or site descriptions, and commenting on the proposed addition, please contact the RCRA/Superfund Hotline at 1-800-424-9346 or 703-412-9810. Further information about the site and the Superfund program can also be obtained from EPA's homepage:

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]