Concerns raised over Horseshoe Road site
Environmental group says Horseshoe Road is 'a toxic playground'
BY MICHAEL ACKER
Staff Writer

PHOTOSBY MICHAEL ACKER Above: Beyond the residences of Horseshoe Road, a sign for the Atlantic Resources Corp. prohibits entry to the Horseshoe Road Superfund site by order of the U.S. government. Human exposure to toxic substances at the site is not under control according to the EPA. At right: A fence at the entrance to the Horseshoe Road Superfund Site is chain locked and has an EPA sign that reads: "WARNING - Hazardous Materials present in soil and marsh area. Avoid contact."

Human exposure to toxic substances is not under control at the Horseshoe Road Superfund site in Sayreville.

That's according to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report, which lists more than a dozen other sites in New Jersey as also being unsecured to exposure.

Representatives of the EPA and the Edison Wetlands Association (EWA) participated in a community advisory meeting with residents who live near the contaminated Horseshoe Road site at borough hall Oct. 4, indicating that the risks are minimal, but access to the land and the contaminants within remains a concern.

The 12-acre Horseshoe Road property, located between Main Street and the Raritan River in Sayreville, is a former chemical processing site that includes three areas - the Horseshoe Road Drum Dump, the former Atlantic Development Corp. facility, and the Sayreville Pesticide Dump.

Although portions of a separate site known as Atlantic Resources were included in an EPA investigation, the agency notes that unlike the Horseshoe Road site, it is not included on the National Priorities List [NPL].

Approximately 63 houses are within a half-mile of the Horseshoe Road site, and about 14,000 people obtain drinking water from public wells within four miles of the property, according to EPA documents.

However, those residents have been assured the drinking water does not pose a hazard.

John Osolin, EPA remedial project manager for the site, said the nearby public drinking water wells come from a different aquifer and there is no potential for groundwater to be affected by contaminants on the Horseshoe Road site.

"One of the issues we have with the groundwater is vapor intrusion," Osolin said. "When we look at a site, we not only look at what potential exposures there are now, we look at what we might find in the future. Volatile organic solvents trapped in the ground beneath the site could put off gas into a building if one is built there, so we are going in after those to get rid of that potential."

Osolin said that there is no potential for groundwater to be affected by the contaminants, because clay and other impermeable materials keep contaminants out of nearby wells. He added that the groundwater flows toward the river.

"Any flow there, which is extremely small, goes toward the river," Osolin said. "Making its way to the river is not a great thing, but it is not in the groundwater."

The site has not been used for chemical disposal since the early 1980s, according to regional content documents obtained from the EPA's Web site. A brush fire at the Horseshoe Road Drum Dump in 1981 brought the site to the agency's attention, which led to the exposure of 70 partially filled drums of silver cyanide, acetonitrile and ethyl acetate.

An NPL description of the site written prior to cleanup procedures in 1993 said the areas have the same potentially responsible parties for the contamination and at least 18 entities were involved in the four areas from 1965 to 1981. The EPA has settled with the potentially responsible parties in regard to marsh and sediments in the river, soil and groundwater on both sites, Osolin said. However, the agency is still waiting for the court to agree on the settlements.

The estimated cost of cleanup - which includes the excavation and disposal of 62,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil and debris, along with the monitoring of groundwater at the sites - is approximately $20 million, Osolin said, noting that this may change over time. The Army Corps of Engineers is overseeing the cleanup design for the Atlantic Resources site, while the Horseshoe Road Superfund Site is being done by contractors of the Army Corps of Engineers.

Osolin updated residents Oct. 4 on the status of cleanup and offered background on the history of the sites.

He said the site is not secure from human exposure, but procedures taken in the past have reduced the risks.

"I made that determination [that exposure is not under control] with the approval of my management ...," Osolin told Greater Media Newspapers. "... The [Horseshoe Road] site is uncontrolled, but measures have been taken. There are still some potential routes of exposure, but the worst parts of them have been taken away."

Buildings on the property were razed in two actions, one taken by the EPA in 2001 and 2002, the other by the responsible parties in 2003.

Epoxy resins, polymer pigments and roofing materials like coal tar are at Atlantic Resources, Osolin said. The Atlantic Resources facility was a metal recycling center that used precious metals.

While Osolin could not confirm that asbestos was stored on the site, he sad asbestos in the buildings on-site was removed during demolition

"Asbestos is not a chemical of concern on the site," Osolin said.

Chemicals of concern on the property include methoxychlor, benzine, chlorobenzene, methylene chloroxide, arsenic, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and volatile organic compounds, Osolin said. PCBs and arsenic are carcinogens, while methoxychlor is a pesticide.

Robert Spiegel, executive director of Edison Wetlands Association, asked that the EPA ensure that the gates on the properties are secured, adding that he thinks local hunters and children are breaking into the sites and putting themselves at risk.

"It is a toxic playground for children," Spiegel said.

Osolin disagreed with Spiegel's characterization, adding that there are surface issues that need to be addressed, but lab results from EPA investigations found that most of the contamination is below the surface.

"This is not something that you are exposed to one day and drop dead the next," Osolin said. "It is [an issue with] long-term exposure."

Osolin said the gates' locks were replaced last week, and noted that reports of break-ins at the sites are rare. As a precaution, local police have agreed to regularly patrol the area, he said.

According to a press release provided by EWA, the only other Superfund site in Middlesex County that the EPA listed as having uncontrolled contamination is Cornell-Dublier Electronics in South Plainfield.

Spiegel argued that the federal Superfund tax should be reinstated to help the EPA fund cleanups on 111 Superfund sites across the country.

"Considering the cost of a single cleanup can be as high as $100 million," Spiegel said, "[the EPA] needs to be honest on the status of each cleanup with communities in New Jersey and around the nation."

Congressman Frank Pallone, whose district includes Sayreville, said he wants the EPA to take immediate action to contain human exposure to toxic substances at Horseshoe Road and other sites throughout the state.

"Protecting Americans from exposure to toxic chemicals at the nation's most contaminated sites should be the EPA's top priority," Pallone said. "It is unacceptable that they have allowed human exposure to continue at so many sites, including a disturbing number here in New Jersey."

While the EPA issued a new report placing the number of the Superfund sites where exposure is not under control in New Jersey at 14, Pallone said that will increase to 15 when the Ringwood Mines/Landfill site in Bergen County is listed as a Superfund site.

In a letter to EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson, Pallone asked that the agency keep him informed of plans to control the remaining human exposure at these sites, adding that they should inform him as soon as possible as to whether there is sufficient funding and resources to control the contamination.

"It is difficult to understand why human exposure remains uncontrolled at so many sites," Pallone wrote in the letter to Johnson. "I am especially concerned because this problem seems to disproportionately affect the people of New Jersey."