A cleanup plan is officially on the books for the 80-120 Lister Avenue portion of the Diamond Alkali Superfund Site in Newark, the EPA announced Friday.
By Eric Kiefer, Patch Staff
NEWARK, NJ — A cleanup plan is officially on the books for part of a polluted Superfund site in Newark, federal officials announced Friday.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it has finalized its cleanup plan for the 80-120 Lister Avenue portion of the Diamond Alkali Superfund Site. The plan will address the contaminated soil, debris and groundwater that was left behind by activities at the facility.
Need a refresher? Here’s some background on the case, according to the EPA:
Need a refresher? Here’s some background on the case, according to the EPA:
“The Diamond Alkali Superfund site includes the former manufacturing facility at 80-120 Lister Avenue in Newark, New Jersey, the Lower Passaic River Study Area (LPRSA), and the Newark Bay Study Area. The LPRSA includes the 17-mile tidal stretch of the river from Dundee Dam to Newark Bay and tributaries. The Newark Bay Study Area includes Newark Bay and portions of the Hackensack River, Arthur Kill and Kill van Kull. The area surrounding the site is densely populated and heavily industrialized.”
Here’s what happened, the EPA says:
“Kolker Chemical Works Inc. produced Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and other chemicals at 80 Lister Avenue in the 1940s. The Diamond Alkali Company (later purchased by and merged into Occidental Chemical Corporation or OCC) owned and operated the facility in the 1950s and 1960s. The facility manufactured agricultural chemicals including herbicides used in ‘Agent Orange,’ a defoliant chemical that removes leaves from trees and plants. These manufacturing processes produced an extremely toxic chemical, 2,3,7,8-TCDD (dioxin).”
According to the EPA, the state of New Jersey and federal officials took samples at and near 80 Lister Avenue and in the river in 1983. The results? High levels of dioxin.
The EPA and New Jersey also found pesticides and other hazardous substances in the soil and groundwater at 80-120 Lister Avenue, as well as dioxin, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and pesticides in sediment in the Lower Passaic River.
The EPA listed the site on the Superfund National Priorities List in 1984, and cleanup at the site has been taking place ever since.
Due to its size and complexity, the EPA separated the Superfund site and project work into four phases known as Operable Units (OUs):
- OU1 – the 80-120 Lister Avenue properties
- OU2 – the lower 8.3 miles of the Lower Passaic River
- OU3 – the Newark Bay Study Area
- OU4 – the entire 17-mile Lower Passaic River Study Area
The final cleanup plan announced this week – known as a Record of Decision – focuses on “OU1,” the location of a former pesticide and herbicide manufacturing facility that contaminated the surrounding area, the Lower Passaic River and Newark Bay.
“The contamination stemming from the Lister Avenue facility has impacted Newark for decades, and this cleanup plan marks a significant milestone in addressing it,” EPA regional administrator Lisa Garcia said.
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