2.0 Preliminary Assessment - Chemical Contaminants

2.0 Preliminary Assessment – Chemical Contaminants:

-          2 inactive wastewater treatment plant lagoons contaminated with lead, cadmium,  copper, zinc, and volatile compounds (NJDEP 1981);

-          Furnace slag disposal areas (slag could be a source of heavy metal contamination, as well as sulfur, phosphorous and metal oxides);

-          6 wastewater treatment flocculation and settling tanks containing water with a pH of 2. 3 settling tanks and 3 flocculation tanks.

-          2, a chemical feed and a mixer tank, located within the wastewater control building containing solid material (potentially waste from the chemical precipitation system)

-          Sludges; baghouse dust piles (RCRA-regulated waste designated # K061 - potential sources of chromium, lead and cadmium)

-          222 transformers potentially containing contaminated PCB oils

-          106 tanks were found on-site: 59 containing unknown waste, 27 containing oil, 10 were empty, 10 containing probably water, and 2 containing chemical powders.

-          52 inactive railroad cars: 25 cars containing slag, 9 cars containing fly/bottom ash, 4 containing debris/trash, 2 containing dry sludge, and 12 are empty (potential source of heavy metals)

-          2,621 drums containing all sorts of chemicals including; cyanide, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, oils and liquid chemicals

-          pits/sumps and basements within the buildings, containing potentially contaminated liquids and baghouse dust, drums, tires shredded rubber, plastic and building rubble

-          Buildings themselves are considered to be potential sources of contamination.

-          Many drums were corroded and leaking. 

-          Many tanks and transformers were in poor condition, with rusted walls, leaky valves, and open roofs. 

-          Four chemical laboratories/storerooms containing acids, bases, inorganic salts, alcohols, halogenated and non-halogenated organics. 

-          Two open plating baths (located in Building 8) appeared to contain copper sulfate. 

-          Insulation material, most likely made of asbestos, hanging from the yard piping. 

-          Surface and subsurface soils are contaminated with metal pollutants and to a lesser extent with organic compounds. 

-          Buried drums, found west of Building 88, south of the landfill, and west of waste treatment plant along the river bank. 

-          REM II identified areas where unknown buried objects may be located, around the wastewater treatment facility, process buildings and lagoons, and southeast of the former M.A. Polymer building.