News Releases from Region 02
EPA Proposes Soil Cleanup Plan in Vineland, N.J. at Former Pesticides Manufacturing Facility
Public Meeting Will be Held on August 2nd at 7pm
(New York, N.Y. – July 13, 2016) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a plan to clean up contaminated soil at approximately 57 residences that are impacted by the former Kil-Tone Company site in Vineland, N.J. Pesticides were manufactured at the now defunct Kil-Tone Company facility, and groundwater and soil at the site, including soil in the yards of nearby homes, are contaminated with arsenic and lead.
The city’s drinking water has not been impacted by the contamination. The drinking water supply is monitored regularly to ensure the water quality meets drinking water standards and is safe to consume. The EPA recently sampled public water supply wells located near the former Kil-Tone Company site for lead. None of the samples showed exceedances of the EPA's action levels. Vineland's most recent water quality report, from 2015, showed levels of arsenic in the city's drinking water to be below the EPA's maximum contaminant level.
“Arsenic is known to cause cancer, and lead can damage a child’s ability to learn and a range of other health problems,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck. “It is imperative that the contamination on residential properties is removed to protect people’s health.”
The EPA will hold a public meeting on August 2 to explain the proposed plan. The meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. at the Gloria M Sabater Elementary School at 301 Souteast Blvd, Vineland, N.J. Comments will be accepted until August 12, 2016.
The Kil-Tone Company manufactured pesticides, which included arsenic and lead, from approximately 1917 to 1926 on the property at 527 East Chestnut Avenue in Vineland, N.J. In 1926, the Kil-Tone Company sold the property to Lucas Kil-Tone Co., which is believed to have continued manufacturing pesticides at the property until at least 1933. The property is currently occupied by an unrelated and active business.
Building on the work of previous investigations initiated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the EPA confirmed that soil at both the former Kil-Tone Company property and in the yards of nearby homes had unacceptable levels of arsenic and lead. The EPA advised residents in April 2015 on immediate actions they should take to reduce potential exposure to the contaminated soil in their backyards. In June 2015, the EPA sampled soil at 48 additional residential properties located near the site. The EPA has shared the sampling results with the affected residents and businesses and held a public meeting in July 2015. In April 2016, the EPA began work to reduce, in the short term, the potential exposure from the elevated levels of arsenic and lead at the residential properties by placing sod, stone, mulch or another barrier at the impacted areas.
The EPA plan includes removing and disposing of contaminated soil that are impacted by the former Kil-Tone Company facility. The soil would be dug up and properly disposed of at facilities licensed to handle the waste. The excavated areas would be backfilled with clean soil, replanted with vegetation, if appropriate, and restored. In total, approximately 15,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil will be removed. During the soil cleanup activities, monitoring will be conducted to ensure the effectiveness of the cleanup. Data from residential soil sampling at 60 properties sampled for potential action has been shared with the property owners. Additional properties may require a cleanup and under the proposed plan, the EPA would determine the precise number of residential properties that would need soil remediation after additional sampling during the design phase of the project. The EPA will coordinate with the property owners or occupants to ensure that the work is done with minimal disruption. The EPA will monitor the air near the work areas.
In April 2015, the EPA collected surface water and sediment samples along the Tarkiln Branch to the confluence with the Maurice River. Sampling results show elevated levels of arsenic and lead related to the Former Kil-Tone Company Superfund Site. The commercial soils, industrial soils, surface water, sediment and groundwater will be the subject of a future cleanup plan as well as the contaminated soil at the former Kil-tone Company property itself.
The Superfund program operates on the principle that polluters should pay for the cleanups, rather than passing the costs to taxpayers. The EPA searches for parties legally responsible for the contamination at sites that are placed on the Superfund list and it seeks to hold those parties accountable for the costs of investigations and cleanups.
Written comments may be mailed or emailed to:
Hunter Young, Remedial Project Manager
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
290 Broadway, 18th Floor
New York, N.Y. 10007
To view the proposed cleanup plan, visit: www.epa.gov/superfund/former-kil-tone
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