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EPA to Continue Cleaning Up Ground Water at Superfund Site in Hunterdon County

Release Date: 10/5/2005
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For Release: Wednesday, October 5, 2005

(#05113) NEW YORK -- The cleanup of contaminated ground water at the Myers Property Superfund site in Franklin Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey will continue, according to a plan announced today by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The ground water is being cleaned up by extracting it from the ground, treating it and then re-injecting it back into the ground.

"EPA's cleanup activities at the Myers Property Superfund site have successfully protected the community from contamination in the ground water," said EPA Regional Administrator Alan J. Steinberg. "We will continue our work at this site until it no longer poses a potential long-term risk to the public."

The current system, which addresses both shallow and bedrock ground water contamination, has proved to be effective, but EPA decided it needs to continue cleaning up the ground water. Water is currently being pumped from nine extraction wells into a pressurized vessel. A stream of air is forced through the ground water, causing pollutants to evaporate. The water is then run through a carbon filter and reinjected into the ground, and the air is treated to remove the pollutants prior to being released. A series of monitoring wells and a number of area residential wells are tested regularly. No site-related contamination has been found in any of the residential wells.

The seven-acre Myers Property site in rural Franklin Township, Hunterdon County includes approximately two acres of mostly wetland area owned by the state of New Jersey. Cakepoulin Creek, a recreational fishing, trout production stream runs adjacent to the site. Portions of the site were historically used for pesticide and other chemical manufacturing by numerous companies. From 1928 to 1945, several pesticide production companies operated at the site and a chemical company operated there from 1953 to 1959. The site was purchased in 1971 for use as a residence and was sold to the current owner, Arkema, Inc., in 1993.

The site was included on the Superfund National Priorities List in 1983, and EPA removed contaminated material including soil, drummed waste, asbestos and debris in 1984. Through an agreement entered in 1992, Arkema, Inc. agreed to conduct the remaining work at the site, with EPA review and oversight. After extensive study and evaluation, the company demolished the buildings on the property, installed the ground water treatment system, and removed and disposed of contaminated soil and sediment. All physical work was completed in spring 2005, and this is the last phase of construction at the site.

For more information about this site, please visit the EPA Web site at: https://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/0200774c.pdf.