EPA to Demolish Contaminated Building at Toxic
Superfund Site in
Garfield, N.J.
(New York, N.Y. – August 8, 2012) U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck was joined
today by New Jersey Senator Frank R. Lautenberg, Senator Robert Menendez and
Congressmember Bill Pascrell, Jr. as she announced that the EPA will safely
demolish the E.C. Electroplating building at the Garfield Superfund site in
Garfield, New Jersey. The building, located at 125 Clark Street, is contaminated
with hexavalent
chromium that is reaching the basements of some area residences and
businesses through the ground water. Hexavalent chromium is extremely toxic, may
cause cancer and can cause nervous system damage. The Regional Administrator and
members of Congress were joined by Garfield Mayor Joseph Delaney, local
officials and community members to review progress and discuss the ongoing
Superfund cleanup at the former electroplating facility.
“The EPA has done a great deal of work since
2002 to reduce the health risks to the people who live and work in the area of
Garfield affected by chromium contaminated ground water,” said EPA Regional
Administrator Judith A. Enck. “Today we’re pleased to announce that we’re ready
to take a step forward in the long-term cleanup of the Garfield Superfund site.”
Preliminary
sampling shows that parts of the E.C. Electroplating building, its two basements
and the soil located under the structure are contaminated with the chemical
hexavalent chromium. The structure needs to be demolished in order to properly
dispose of the contaminated sections of the building and to remove the
contaminated soil underneath. The EPA tested the industrial materials left at
the former E.C. Electroplating and will safely remove and properly disposed of
them at licensed facilities.
The EPA is currently preparing the building for
demolition by removing over 220 drums and cleaning the building surface. The
agency will work closely with local officials to determine the best time to do
the demolition and will hold a community meeting before demolition begins to
inform area residents and building owners about the work. Strict procedures will
be followed to control dust during the demolition, with special attention paid
to the Garfield No.7 School and to a daycare center located near the site. The
EPA will establish an air monitoring network to ensure that contamination is
contained during the demolition work. The air monitoring plan will be shared
with the public before work begins. The demolition work is presently scheduled
to take place in October.
Ground water underlying the site is also
contaminated with the hexavalent chromium and is seeping into basements in some
Garfield homes and businesses. Drinking water for Garfield comes from the
Garfield Municipal Water Supply, which is not contaminated and is routinely
tested to ensure that it meets federal and state drinking water standards,
which it does.
The Garfield Superfund site, which is located in
a mixed commercial and residential neighborhood, is bordered by Van Winkle
Avenue to the north, Monroe Street to the south, Sherman Place to the east, and
the Passaic River to the West. Historically, industrial facilities in Garfield
were located in close proximity to residential areas, including a tannery, a
chemical plant and two electroplating companies. Some of these facilities used
hexavalent chromium in their processes and the nearby ground water is now
contaminated with the chemical. In June 1993, water containing hexavalent
chromium and dried crystals of chromium was discovered in the basement of
Garfield Fire House #3. In 2002, at the request of the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection, the EPA began its investigation of ground water
contamination in Garfield.
In
September 2010, the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
issued a health advisory recommending that the EPA continue to take steps to
minimize people’s exposure to the contamination and that it expedite a long-term
cleanup. The site was added to the federal Superfund list in 2011.
The EPA
used its Superfund’s emergency response authority in Garfield to address the
immediate health threats in properties where ground water had carried hexavalent
chromium into basements. Over 500 homes and businesses have been inspected for
hexavalent chromium contamination and over 2,000 samples have been analyzed. The
EPA has found about 15 properties that require cleanups to protect occupants
from unacceptable levels of chromium that have seeped into their basements. The
EPA has an ongoing inspection and assessment program to assist any concerned
residents within the impacted area.
The EPA has established a network of ground
water monitoring wells to determine the extent of chromium contamination in the
ground water. This in-depth investigation will allow the EPA to determine how
best to clean up chromium contaminated ground water.
Superfund is the
federal cleanup program established by Congress in 1980 to investigate and clean
up the country’s most hazardous waste sites. When sites are placed on the
Superfund list, the EPA looks for parties responsible for the
pollution and requires them to pay for the cleanups. In this instance, the EPA
has identified E.C. Electroplating as a company that may be liable for the
cleanup. The company, however, alleges it lacks funds to conduct any cleanup. To
date, the EPA’s cleanup costs for this site exceed four million
dollars. The EPA is continuing its search for other parties responsible for the
contamination at the site.
For more
information about the Garfield site, visit: http://www.epa.gov/region2/superfund/removal/garfield.
Follow EPA
Region 2 on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit
our Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/eparegion2.
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