EPA Press Office:

EPA Completes Mercury Cleanup at Vo-Toys Site in Harrison, New Jersey

 

Contact: Stephen McBay, (212)-637-3672, mcbay.stephen@epa.gov

NEW YORK (September 14, 2023) – Today, EPA announced that it has completed a major milestone in the cleanup of the Vo-Toys site in Harrison, New Jersey. Under EPA oversight, General Electric Company (GE) contractors have successfully decontaminated and demolished all three mercury-contaminated buildings at the site and have removed building debris.

“After years of hard work, EPA has mitigated the mercury threats from the Vo-Toys site and ensured the safety of this community,” said Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “This project will have a positive impact on the health and economy of Harrison and its surrounding areas.”

The Vo-Toys site is a former manufacturing facility that occupied a city block in a mixed residential and commercial neighborhood just north of Route 280. The site had three large, empty buildings that had been contaminated with mercury from past industrial practices. Exposure to mercury can be harmful to human health and the environment.

In response to the May 2018 request of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), EPA became involved in the cleanup of the site. EPA and GE conducted a series of assessments to determine the amount of mercury within the buildings and the potential impact on the neighborhood in case of a fire. The results showed that a fire could expose people to a significant amount of mercury. To prevent this, EPA and NJDEP collaborated with local officials and first responders to create a plan to protect the public from a mercury release. GE, which was responsible for performing the removal action at the site, placed a 24-hour fire watch at the site until a plan for site cleanup was finalized.

Under a legal agreement with EPA, GE began removing mercury-contaminated structures at the site in March 2020. Decontamination and demolition of the above grade structures was completed in May 2022. In 2023, GE removed and disposed of numerous mercury-contaminated concrete footers and related contaminated soil. Below-slab piping contaminated with mercury was also removed and disposed of off-site. During all the work EPA and GE contractors monitored the air for mercury vapor and dust and collected air samples in the community to ensure that air quality was safe.

Today’s announcement marks the end of the cleanup work overseen by EPA at the Vo-Toys site, which has successfully removed the risk of mercury exposure from the three contaminated buildings. GE will submit a final report on the removal action to EPA as the site is transitioned to NJDEP oversight for further action to ensure the safe redevelopment and future use of the site.

For more information, site documents and photos, please visit the Vo Toys site response page.

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