Imperial Oil Company Incorporated/Champion Chemical
Orchard Place
Marlboro Township, Monmouth County
PI #: G000004865
BLOCK: 122 LOT: 29
Community Relations Coordinator: Mindy Mumford (609) 777-1976
SITE DESCRIPTION/RESOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS:
As
of 28 June 2004
This site has an extensive history of industrial operations dating to
1912. A chemical plant manufactured arsenic-containing compounds at the
site in the early part of the century. In 1950, Champion Chemical Company
acquired the property and converted it into an oil reclamation facility.
Champion Chemical used filter clay and caustic solutions to remove heavy
metals and PCBs from waste oil. Since 1969, the Imperial Oil Company has
blended and repackaged unused oil at the site under a lease agreement
with Champion Chemicals. USEPA added the Imperial Oil/Champion Chemicals
property to the National Priorities List of Superfund sites (NPL) in 1983
after sampling showed that a large waste filter clay pile and the soil
at the site were highly contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons, heavy
metals and PCBs. In 1985, NJDEP began a Remedial Investigation (RI) to
determine the nature and extent of the contamination at the site. The
RI confirmed that both on-site and off-site soils had been contaminated
by industrial operations at the facility. In addition, the RI revealed
that the underlying Englishtown Aquifer was contaminated and a substantial
volume of residual oil product was floating on the water table underneath
the waste filter clay pile. Contamination was also found in the sediments
of Birch Swamp Brook, which originates near the northeastern border of
the site and drains into Lake Lefferts, approximately 1.25 miles away.
Due to the size of the property and the complexity of the issues to be
addressed, NJDEP has divided the investigation and remediation of the
site into several Operable Units (OU): off-site soil that is contaminated
with heavy metals and PCBs, and the contaminated sediments in Birch Swamp
Brook (OU1); the contaminated ground water (OU2); and on-site soil contaminated
with volatile organic compounds, petroleum hydrocarbons, heavy metals
and PCBs (OU3). NJDEP performed separate Feasibility Studies (FS) for
each OU to evaluate cleanup alternatives and selected the appropriate
remedies as detailed below.
Off-site soil and sediments (OU1): In 1990, USEPA issued
a Record of Decision (ROD) with NJDEP concurrence for OU1 that required
installation of a fence around the off-site area to restrict access to
contaminated soils, excavation and off-site disposal of contaminated soils
and restoration of the affected wetlands. Soil sampling conducted in 1995
during the Remedial Design revealed an unanticipated sporadic pattern
of arsenic contamination, some of which was detected at off-site residential
properties. A study by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) concluded
that there were multiple sources of the arsenic in the soil, including
a minor contribution from natural background, historic application of
arsenic-based pesticides and past industrial operations at the Imperial
Oil site. The USGS study documented that the arsenic in the soil at four
residential properties closest to the site was due to industrial operations.
USEPA subsequently issued an Explanation of Significant Differences (ESD)
to modify the OU1 ROD to include removal of the arsenic-contaminated soil
from four residential properties. Remediation of the arsenic-contaminated
soil at the four homes was completed in 1998. In 1998, NJDEP conducted
a Focused Feasibility Study (FFS) to determine the nature and extent of
the sediment contamination in Birch Swamp Brook. NJDEP and USEPA concluded
based on the findings of the FFS that sediments in the brook from the
Fire Pond downstream to Texas Road were contaminated with elevated levels
of PCBs and petroleum hydrocarbons. NJDEP also determined that soil at
two residential properties located adjacent to Birch Swamp Brook and Texas
Road was contaminated with arsenic at levels exceeding New Jersey cleanup
criteria. USEPA and NJDEP issued a second ESD for the OU1 ROD in 2002
to add remediation of contaminated Birch Swamp Brook sediments and additional
residential soil areas to the OU1 remedy. NJDEP completed the Remedial
Design for all remedial components of OU1 in 2002 and cleanup activities
are scheduled to begin in 2003.
Ground water (OU2): In 1992, after completing the FS
for OU2, USEPA issued a ROD with NJDEP concurrence that required installation
of an on-site remediation system to extract and treat the contaminated
ground water. The Remedial Design for the ground water remediation system
was significantly delayed due to initial site access problems and laboratory
analytical interferences that made it difficult to accurately delineate
the arsenic plume. After a comprehensive investigation to determine the
extent of arsenic in the ground water, NJDEP modified the scope of the
Remedial Design to address a smaller contaminant plume that is limited
to the site boundary. The Remedial Design for the ground water remediation
system is scheduled to be completed in 2003.
On-site soil (OU3): In 1999, after the FS for the on-site
contaminated soil was completed, USEPA issued a ROD with NJDEP concurrence
for OU3. The ROD required excavation and off-site disposal of an estimated
80,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil and waste pile material and the
off-site disposal of 5,000 gallons of oil product recovered from the site.
NJDEP is conducting the Remedial Design for OU3.
Interim Remedial Measures: In addition to the work performed
by NJDEP to investigate and remediate the three identified Operable Units,
USEPA has also implemented four Interim Remedial Measures (IRM) at the
site: removal of the heavily contaminated waste filter clay pile in 1991,
installation of a recovery system to extract the oil-like floating product
layer from the ground water in 1992; demolition and disposal of a dilapidated
four-story building in 2000; and removal of contaminated waste material
in the wooded area adjacent to Fire Pond in 2002. The floating oil recovery
system is currently operating under the supervision of NJDEP. To date,
approximately 20,000 gallons of oil have been recovered by the floating
oil recovery system and disposed of at an off-site facility.
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