EPA Extends Public Comment Period on Plan for
the White Chemical Corporation Superfund site in Newark, New
Jersey
Contact:
Elias Rodriguez, 212-637-3664, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov
(New York, N.Y. – Aug. 29, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency is extending by thirty days the public comment period for the plan
it has proposed for the contaminated ground water beneath the White
Chemical Corporation Superfund site in Newark, New Jersey. The ground
water was contaminated with volatile organic compounds by past industrial
activities at the site. Volatile organic compounds can cause serious damage to
people’s health and the environment. The proposed plan calls for the injection
of chemicals into the ground water that will break down the contamination. The
ground water will be monitored and its use will be restricted.
The
EPA held a public meeting on August 2, 2012 to explain the proposed plan. At the
request of a member of the public, the agency is extending the public comment
period from its original date of August 21 to a new public comment deadline of
September 20, 2012.
The
final phase of the cleanup, which was announced July 25 addresses the
contaminated ground water. After extensive study, the EPA has concluded that it
is not technically feasible to pump out and treat the contaminated 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.
Instead, the proposed plan calls for
bioremediation, the injection of chemicals into the ground water to promote the
breakdown of the pollutants. The specific process to be used to inject the
chemical additive will be determined by the EPA as part of the design of the
cleanup. Once the process has begun, the EPA will collect samples to confirm
that the bioremediation is effective. The EPA is proposing to install additional
monitoring wells to monitor the ground water and to put into place restrictions
that will prevent its use as a source of drinking water in the future. The EPA
is requiring periodic collection and analysis of ground water samples to verify
that the level and extent of contaminants are declining and that people’s health
and the environment are protected.
The former White Chemical Corporation site,
which covers 4.4 acres, is located at 660 Frelinghuysen Avenue in Newark, and is
surrounded by many residential, commercial and industrial properties. Beginning
in the 1930s, portions of the site were used by multiple businesses for
industrial activities including the manufacture of acid chlorides and fire
retardants. The White Chemical Corporation operated a chemical manufacturing
facility at the site from 1983 to 1990 and was cited by the New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection for multiple environmental violations
before the company abandoned the facility. Thousands of drums were left behind,
with many of them leaking hazardous chemicals. The site was added to the federal
Superfund list of the country’s most hazardous waste sites in 1991.
Written
comments may be mailed or emailed to:
Ray
Klimcsak, Remedial Project Manager
U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency – Region 2
290 Broadway- 19th Floor
New
York, N.Y. 10007-1866
(212)
637-3916
For more information on the White
Chemical Superfund site, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/whitechem.
Follow
EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our
Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/eparegion2.
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