Press release:
EPA to Hold Public Meeting on Plan for the
Cornell-Dubilier Electronics Superfund site in South Plainfield, New
Jersey
Protecting Drinking Water EPA Priority
(New York, N.Y. – July 20, 2012) The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a plan for the contaminated ground
water at the Cornell-Dubilier Electronics Superfund site in South Plainfield,
New Jersey that will prevent its use as a source of drinking water. The ground
water associated with the site, located at 333 Hamilton Boulevard in South
Plainfield, became contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and
volatile organic compounds from past industrial activities. PCBs are likely cancer causing chemicals
and can have serious neurological effects. Volatile organic compounds can cause
serious damage to people’s health. Under a plan proposed by the EPA today, the
ground water will be monitored and the use of that ground water will be
restricted.
The ground water at the Cornell-Dubilier
Electronics site is contained within underground layers of rock and soil.
Municipal water supply wells in Middlesex County draw ground water from some
portions of the rock formations to the north of the site. The plan proposed
today will require enhanced and continued monitoring of the ground water and
will prevent the contaminated site ground water from being used as a source of
drinking water in the future. The Cornell-Dubilier Electronics Superfund site is
part of a Borough of South Plainfield redevelopment area.
The EPA will hold a public meeting on Tuesday
August 7, 2012 at 7 p.m. to explain the proposed plan and is encouraging public
comments. The meeting will be held at the South Plainfield Senior Center located
at 90 Maple Avenue, South Plainfield. Comments will be accepted until August 20,
2012.
Cornell-Dubilier
Electronics, Inc., manufactured electronics parts at the 26-acre facility from
1936 to 1962. PCBs and solvents were used in the manufacturing process and the
company disposed of PCB-contaminated materials and other hazardous wastes at the
facility property.
Because of the nature and complexity of the
contamination at the site, the EPA divided the investigation and cleanup into
four phases. The proposed plan announced today is for the third phase of the
long-term cleanup.
Under the
first phase of cleanup, which is continuing, the EPA has cleaned up nearby
residential, commercial, and municipal properties. PCB-contaminated soil has
been removed from four residential properties near the former
facility property. EPA has since identified eight additional properties and
expects to begin to clean up these properties in August 2012. This work will be
completed before the winter. Investigations are still being performed on several
other properties as part of this phase of the cleanup.
Under
phase two of the cleanup, the EPA cleaned up the contaminated buildings and
soils at the former facility property. EPA has demolished 18 contaminated
buildings and removed 26,400 tons of building debris off-site to be disposed of
properly. The EPA has also excavated approximately 21,000 tons of contaminated
debris and soil from an undeveloped area of the facility. Using $30 million in
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, the EPA continued the second phase
of cleanup by treating contaminated soil on-site using a technology that heats
the material so that contaminants can be pulled out and captured. Soil that
could not be cleaned using this method was taken off-site for disposal at a
licensed facility.
The third phase of the long-term cleanup, and
the phase that is the subject of the proposed plan announced today, focuses on
the contaminated ground water. After extensive soil and ground water studies,
the EPA has concluded that it is not feasible to treat the contaminated site
ground water because of the complex rock formations underlying the site. The
depth, nature and variety of the rock formations would present extreme technical
challenges for any active treatment. The EPA is proposing to install additional
ground water monitoring wells to monitor the ground water and to put into place
restrictions that will prevent the use of untreated ground water as drinking
water. In addition, the EPA’s plan calls for periodic sampling to ensure that
potentially harmful vapors from the contaminated ground water do not seep into
nearby buildings. Recent periodic indoor air testing inside nearby buildings
shows that vapors are not currently getting into the structures.
In the fourth and final phase of the long-term
cleanup, the EPA will focus on the contaminated sediment of the Bound Brook. The
potential for ground water contamination to impact surface water and sediment in
the Bound Brook is also being evaluated as part of this phase. A cleanup plan
for phase four is expected in 2013.
The
Superfund program operates on the principle that polluters should pay for the
cleanups, rather than passing the costs to taxpayers. After sites are placed on
the Superfund list of the most contaminated waste sites, the EPA searches for
parties responsible for the contamination and holds them accountable for the
costs of investigations and cleanups. To date, the EPA’s cleanup costs for this
site exceed $133 million. The EPA will seek to recover some of its
costs from the parties responsible for the
contamination.
Written
comments may be mailed or emailed to:
Diego
Garcia, Remedial Project Manager
U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency – Region 2
290
Broadway – 19th floor
New York,
N.Y. 10007-1866
(212)
637-4947
12-092
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