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Soil Removal Project Begins at Marlboro Township Superfund
Site
(04/37) TRENTON- Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Bradley
M. Campbell today announced the start of a $5.8 million
soil cleanup this month at properties adjacent to the Imperial
Oil Superfund site in Marlboro Township.
"Today marks the beginning of a long overdue hazardous
waste cleanup made necessary by years of improper hazardous
waste disposal practices," said Commissioner Campbell. "While
the majority of this work is funded by federal Superfund
money, additional cleanup is needed, and without federal
leadership to establish a stable source of funding many
hazardous waste sites, like Imperial Oil, remain in jeopardy
of ever being fully remediated."
DEP will hold a public information session for residents
and local officials from 3 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 20
to discuss details of the cleanup. The meeting will be
held at the Marlboro Township Municipal Courtroom, 1979
Township Drive.
More than 18,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment
and soil will be removed from Birch Swamp Brook and adjacent
properties between the Imperial Oil site and Texas Road.
Restoration of the brook and adjacent properties will follow
in phases upon completion of excavation work. The contamination
includes: polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), arsenic, lead
and total petroleum hydrocarbons. Constant real-time air
monitoring will be conducted throughout the construction
project to ensure proper dust control.
Industrial operations began in 1912 at the 15-acre Imperial
Oil site when arsenic compounds were manufactured. An oil
reclamation facility operated from 1950 to 1969 removing
metals and PCBs from waste oil. Since 1969, the Imperial
Oil Company has blended and repackaged unused oil at the
site. The site was added to the National Priorities List
of Superfund sites in 1983. DEP funds 10 percent of the
overall cleanup costs at Superfund sites, while the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency provides the remaining
90 percent.
DEP expects to complete a remedial design for removal
of an additional 83,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil
from the Imperial Oil facility in January 2005. At that
time, a request for federal funding will be submitted
to allow construction to begin.
Residents with questions about the cleanup should call
DEP's community relations office at 800-253-5647.
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