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EPA Earmarks Additional $10 Million for Superfund Cleanup of More Radium-Contaminated Properties in Glen Ridge and Bloomfield

Release Date: 09/09/2002
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(#02091) NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator Jane M. Kenny was joined by U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell and local officials in Bloomfield today to announce that the Agency has secured an additional $10 million for the next phase of radium-contamination cleanups of homes in areas of Glen Ridge and Bloomfield, New Jersey, which make up the Glen Ridge Radium Superfund site. It brings the total amount of funding for the cleanup of the site to $143 million. The Agency has dedicated more than $77.5 million for NPL site cleanups in the state during the current fiscal year, which runs from October 1 to September 30. "The funds will allow us to continue making steady progress on this huge project that is cleaning up people's homes and bringing these communities back to normal," said EPA Regional Administrator Jane M. Kenny. "We have worked closely with local elected officials and community residents from the beginning and value their continued patience and cooperation, key ingredients in the success of the project so far," Ms. Kenny noted. There are approximately 425 residential properties and some municipal properties in the site project area. EPA has cleaned up 115 properties since 1991. Work is ongoing at an additional 21 properties, which will be completed by next September. Cleanup of an additional twenty residential properties in Glen Ridge and Bloomfield will begin this coming spring and should be completed by the end of 2004. The new funds will pay for the excavation and off-site disposal of the radium-contaminated soil, and the restoration of the properties, including sidewalks, driveways and landscaping. The funding will also cover the temporary relocation of families, if properties are uninhabitable during the construction work. There are now 115 sites on the National Priorities List (NPL) of the most hazardous waste sites in New Jersey. Nineteen Superfund sites have already been cleaned up and deleted from the NPL. Long-term cleanups have been completed at 48 sites and are ongoing at 51 of the NPL sites in the state. Study and design activities are underway at the remaining sites. Since 1980, when the federal Superfund program began, EPA has committed $1.84 billion to NPL Superfund site cleanups in the state. During that period, EPA reached settlements in New Jersey valued at approximately $986 million with responsible parties for cleanups at federal Superfund sites. The settlements require the responsible parties to clean up toxic waste in New Jersey communities under EPA supervision, and also allow the government to recover federal funds used in the cleanups from the responsible party.