By Carol Comegno, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
Silent smokestacks from the original factory at the former Lucas Paint Works are a familiar part of the Gibbsboro skyline, but the tranquil scene belies the ground and water contamination that are now being addressed in a federal Superfund cleanup with Sherwin-Williams, the successor to Lucas. (Photo: Courier-Post File Photo)
GIBBSBORO — Citing the ongoing spread of COVID-19, Sherwin-Williams has halted the cleanup of numerous Superfund sites in Gibbsboro and Voorhees for the safety of project workers and the surrounding communities.
The paint corporation announced a temporary halt to its continuing investigations and remediation of those sites in an announcement Tuesday; the company said is was acting in response to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommendation.
“This pause in activities is for a minimum period of two weeks, during which EPA will monitor the situation and provide further guidance,” Sherwin-Williams said in a news release.
“During this pause in field activities, the Sherwin-Williams technical team will continue to work on remediation designs and other tasks remotely and will work diligently to keep the overall project moving forward despite these changes in the schedule.”
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For decades, arsenic and lead penetrated and contaminated the soil at multiple sites from the manufacturing, dumping and burning of pain and solvents that began under Lucas Paint Works.
Lucas later was purchased by Sherwin-Williams and closed in 1977.
