Superfund site

[Teegate]

All,

I told someone I would send them these photo's, but I will post them so all can view instead. Many of the long time members have already viewed them before. If you have not, I hope you enjoy them.

You may have passed by the Superfund site off of 72 near Coyle Field and not even known what it was, so this may help you get an idea what it looks like presently, and as it did in the past. The photo's are poor because I was having camera problems at the time, and for some reason can't find the rest I have, so these will have to do. If I find them I will pass them along.

Here is what it looks like today.

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegate/main.php/download/116-1/Dump.jpg

The below photo's were developed in 2/80, and one shows the drums that had broken open and released the chemicals from inside. What they can't show is the smell that permeated the area making it really hard to stay there on a hot summer day. The photo I can't find shows the dark syrup like substance that was everywhere.

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegate/main.php/download/121-1/ChemicalDump2_80.jpg

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/teegate/main.php/download/124-1/chemical2_80.jpg

Guy

 

[BEHR655]

Does anyone know what it was that was dumped there?

Steve

 

[Teegate]

Does anyone know what it was that was dumped there?

Steve

There was an article in the paper that mentioned it. I believe I remember what it said, but I don't trust my memory.


Guy

 

[Teegate]

Here it is.

http://www.scorecard.org/env-releases/land/site.tcl?epa_id=NJD980505879#maps

There also is another on that Bob told me about off of 532 between Chatsworth and 72. Here is that one.

http://www.scorecard.org/env-releases/land/site.tcl?epa_id=NJD980505887#maps

Guy

 

[BEHR655]

Site Name: WOODLAND ROUTE 72 DUMP
EPA ID: NJD980505879



Potentially Responsible Parties Identified by EPA:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3M (MINNESOTA MINING & MANUFAC 3M CENTER, SAINT PAUL, MN 55101
BETTER MATERIALS CORPORATION ROUTE 232 & SWAMP ROAD, PENNS PARK, PA 18943
HERCULES INC. HERCULES PLAZA, 1313 N. MARKET ST., WILMINGTON, DE 19894
INDUSTRIAL TRUCKING SERVICE CORPORATION ROUTE 232 & SWAMP ROAD, PENNS PARK, PA 18943
ROHM & HAAS CO. INDEPENDENCE MALL WEST, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19102

Note: The number of Potentially Responsible Parties listed above, from U.S. EPA's PRP database, may vary from the total count on the preceding page, derived from EPA's CERCLIS database.

I wonder how much they are paying to clean it up.

 

[Teegate]

I wonder how much they are paying to clean it up.

It may be the owner of the property that foots some of the bill also. But I am willing to bet you and I are paying a large portion of it.

Guy

 

[wis bang]

If they have been identified; they are paying. The problem sites were those that also accecpted municipal household waste too. Like Kinbuc in Edison. In addition to hundreds of corporate dumpers, they also tried to drag in all the towns too. Sounds silly but I'll bet a few lawyers upgraded the size of their yachts some trying to keep the towns in the soup while others were pulling them out.

Rohm & Haas dumped stuff everywhere. I worked for a tank transporter & our terminal was built on R & H property that they had 'filled'. We had a strip of concrete poured the whole length of the property to support any loaded trailers. Without it, the landing legs would sink in minutes...

 

[woodjin]

Thanks for posting the photos Guy,

I wonder how long it will take for the current ground water/soil purification system to restore the area. If ever.

Jeff

 

[wis bang]

Air strippers work when the polution plume has not spread too far. I've seen them installed at former gas stations. It is a column w/ a media inside - looks like ribbons of crinkled polyurethane rolled up to the diameter of the column & stacked inside. A blower sends air up the column while contaminated ground water is pumped into the top and allowed to fall thru the media. The air splits off the volatile and semi-volatile compounds and disapates them into the atmosphere.

All you need is an air pollution permit fromthe DEP...I used to have one as a final 'polish' on a waste water pre-treatment process. It was the last step b/4 the water went down the sewer. I had to sample the discharge for the sewer plant & b/4 the stripper for the DEP Air Qualiy and it cut my volatile & semi-volatiles by 50 - 60 %.

Heavy metals and any other non volatile stuff wont come out that easy.

 

[jokerman]

I think Superfund is used when the responsible party is not known, available, or at least not able to pay. The contaminants described incude DNAPL compounds that are denser than water, which are very difficult to treat, and if treated, , the costs are usually very high. They may be able to establish a CEA where water-use restrictions are applied and they calculate the distance that the plume will migrate and at what point the contamianats will naturally-attenuate to concentartions below the NJDEP groundwater standards. This is what usually happens since it is the least expensixe means to deal with gw plumes. The problem with PCE and TCE (and benzene) is that their NJDEP Groundwater Quality standards are all one (1) part per billion in groundwater. (It is probably even lower in Pineland areas since they have stricter guidelines in the Pine Barrens) That is to say, if one (1) molecule of either of these compounds is present within 1,000,000 molecules of water, the water requires remediation. There will most definately be a soil remediation program implemented to remove the source of the gw contamination and then they may allow for natural attenuation or they may feel that it would be necessary to devise a more aggressive groundwater remediation program. I know the State does recognize the Pine Barrens aquifer as a valuable resource and they may insist that the latter be used. It will be interesting to see what happens. Thanks for bringing light to this site.

 

[bobpbx]

I posted this several years ago on Blanda's old site:


I did some internet research into the Superfund Site I found on Sooey Road off 72. Three major chemical companies had themselves a ball there back in the 50's and 60's. They were trying to build themselves a mini love canal.

Is it bad? It's very bad, exceedingly bad.

The following are excerpts from the Records of Discovery for this site and a companion site not 3 miles away off route 532. Turns out these are only 2 of many sites in the Pine Barrens.

And I thought chemical companies were our friends.

The 12-acre woodland route 72 dump site
is an abandoned hazardous waste dump
in woodland township, Burlington
County, new jersey. The site is being
Remediated concurrently with another
Abandoned dump, the 20-acre woodland
Route 532 dump site, located 3 miles from
The route 72 site. Both sites are in the
Pinelands preservation area district of
New jersey. Several chemical
Manufacturing firms dumped chemicals
And other wastes into trenches and
Lagoons or burned the waste at the
Sites from the early 1950s to 1962. An
Estimated total of 54,000 cubic yards
(route 72, 28,000 cubic yards; route 532,
26,000 cubic yards) of surface material
Including surface soil, stream sediment,
sludge, and debris at the sites are
contaminated with wastes including
tarry substances and paint residues.
furthermore, leaching from surface
materials has resulted in the
contamination of 300,000 cubic yards
(route 72, 130,000 cubic yards; route 532,
170,000 cubic yards) of subsurface soil
and ground water beneath both sites.
The primary contaminants of concern
affecting the surface soil, sediment,
sludge, debris, and ground water are
Vocs including benzene, toluene, tce
and xylenes; organics including pahs,
pesticides, and phenols; radionuclides
(e.g., uranium and thorium series); and
metals including lead and chromium. [The also
found a full drum of radioactive pellets]

Both sites are located within the Pinelands Preservation Area District of New Jersey, and
there is one residence within a 3-mile radius of the site. Both sites overlie the Cohansey and Kirkwood Aquifers; the Cohansey Aquifer is the major source of potable water for the area and was impacted by past disposal practices associated with the sites. From 1951 to 1962, several chemical manufacturing companies disposed of chemicals and other waste into onsite trenches or lagoons and burned various types of waste at the sites. The western half of the Route 532 site was organized into a series of bermed lagoons when the disposal began. A 1962 aerial photograph showed that most of the disposal areas had been regraded and that black liquid, previously dumped onsite, had breached the lagoon berm and was flowing into the nearby pine forest. A 1984 aerial photograph indicated that the site remained unchanged between 1962 and 1984; and that partially buried drums were located on the edges of the former lagoons and road on the western portion of the site, and partially buried drums and general refuse were piled along former roads on the eastern half of the property. No site controls were in place from 1962 to 1986.


THE CONTAMINATED GROUND WATER PLUME (is) ESTIMATED TO BE 4,000 FEET LONG, AND 25 TO 50 FEET DEEP.

TREATMENT TO BE DETERMINED DURING DESIGN (BUT
ANTICIPATED TO INCLUDE AIR STRIPPING,
METALS REMOVAL, BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT,
AND ADVANCED OXIDATION OR CARBON
ADSORPTION) AND REINJECTION OF TREATED
GROUND WATER; AND GROUND AND SURFACE
WATER MONITORING. THE TOTAL ESTIMATED
PRESENT WORTH COST FOR THE CONCURRENT
REMEDIAL ACTIONS AT THE ROUTE 72 AND
ROUTE 532 SITES IS $142,200,000, WHICH
INCLUDES AN ESTIMATED PRESENT WORTH
O&M COST OF $114,000,000 FOR 30 YEARS.

Source: NJ Dept of Environmental Protection.

http://www.epa.gov/enviro/html/cerclis/cerclis

Site maintained by: Office of Emergency and Remedial Response

 

[Teegate]

I just can't stress enough how bad that stuff smelled. Before I left the area I had a headache.

I will redouble my efferts to find the last photo(s) I have. That one shows the black substance mentioned in Bob's post. I know I have the slide, but if I can't find the digital image I am out of luck. I don't have the slide scanner right now.

Guy

 

[wis bang]

I worked for two of the nations largest tank transport companies [Chemical Leaman & Matlack, Inc] and both of them have terminals in southern New Jersey [Swedesboro & Bridgeport]. Both locations were started in the late 50's or early 60's in areas without POTW's. In 1960 the evaporation lagoons were 'state of the art' though one step above hauling stuff to a dump in the pines. Both sites have been on the superfund list since the 80's.

During a drout time Bridgeport drilled a well for tank trailer wash water around the location of the former lagoon. By that time BOTH places were hauling their waste water to Dupont, chambers works in Deepwater and had initiated some remediation of the lagoon sites. The first two trailer loads of water from the well were hauled straight to Deepwater! They used the water from the well for 'first rinse' which pushes the residual out of the trailer before the solution wash and clean water rinse...It led to some changes in the industry practice where the final clean rinse [last rinse] was captured and re-used for the first rinse of the next trailer.

The EPA finally initiated regualtion of 'tank transport equipment cleaning facilities' in the late 90's specitying required waste water treatment standards and concentrated on the remaining facilities without a POTW for waste water discharge. Almost 40 years AFTER these two superfund sites