The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing an interim cleanup plan to address arsenic contamination remaining beneath the surface at the Vineland Chemical Superfund site.
EPA will hold a virtual public meeting on August 12 at 6 p.m. on Zoom to provide an overview of the cleanup proposal and answer community questions. You can register for the meeting at bit.ly/3RnfGBg
The Vineland Chemical Company operated from 1949 to 1994 and produced arsenic-based herbicides and fungicides. The company stored byproduct arsenic salts in open piles, lagoons, and chicken coops, which led to contamination of soil, groundwater, sediment, and floodplain areas.
Its location was 1405 N. Mill Road in the northwestern section of the city of Vineland in Cumberland County, south-central New Jersey. The site is bordered to the north by other industrial properties and the Blackwater Branch, a perennial stream that flows westward to the Maurice River. The Maurice River eventually flows south into Union Lake.
As early as 1966, the New Jersey Department of Health observed untreated wastewater being discharged into unlined lagoons at the site. This wastewater was contaminated with arsenic at concentrations up to 67,000 parts per billion.
Potentially responsible parties (PRPs) identified for the site included Vineland Chemical and its owners. In 1984, EPA signed an Administrative Order on Consent with Vineland and EPA placed the site on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List in September 1984.
In 1986, EPA notified Vineland Chemical that the agency would assume performance of the RI/FS due to the company’s failure to properly perform the work.
Since then, EPA has completed several major parts of the site cleanup. Earlier work included demolishing and disposing of contaminated buildings, constructing an on-site soil washing facility, treating more than 400,000 tons of arsenic-contaminated soil and sediment, and disposing of remaining waste at a permitted off-site facility. EPA also constructed a groundwater pump-and-treat system that began operating in 2001 and that continues to treat contaminated groundwater. This system is now operated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
The proposed plan focuses on arsenic-contaminated saturated soil, which is soil below the groundwater table, that continues to act as a source of contamination to groundwater, sediment, and nearby floodplain areas.
EPA is accepting public comments on the proposed plan through August 29. The public may submit written comments to Nica Klaber, Remedial Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 290 Broadway, New York, NY 10007 or by email to Klaber.Nica@epa.gov.Â
The proposed interim plan and supporting documents are available on the Vineland Chemical Superfund site profile page. Â
