Test results clear parts of former missile base Town acquires 6-acre portion for storage or commuter parking BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer OLD BRIDGE - Despite concerns raised two years ago about cancer-causing agents at the site, most of the former Nike Missile Base has been deemed clear of contamination, township officials said. The Board of Education owns a portion of the site, on which it keeps its maintenance department and transportation garage, according to Superintendent of Schools Simon Bosco. Transportation employees raised concerns about the site in January 2006 after a few bus drivers discovered they had cancer, and the school district opted to relocate most of the employees while testing was done. "Everything came out fine," Bosco said. "They didn't find anything abnormal anywhere." The school district received the final report from an industrial hygienist a few weeks ago, and it stated that there was no environmental contamination on the site, aside from minor issues with a couple of buildings there, Bosco said. The report also stated that there was no cancer connection there, according to Bosco. Several office and storage buildings stand on the board-owned portion of the site, and lead paint was found on some of their exteriors. Bosco said the problem was alleviated by the paint in question being encapsulated. Though most workers were moved from the site at the time of the scare, things are now running as they did in the past there, Bosco said. Township officials authorized the purchase of 6 acres of the Nike Missile Base site, owned by the federal government, for $500. "It's going to be a good pick-up for us," Mayor Jim Phillips said. Like in the case of the school boardowned land, the only environmental contamination issue at that site stems from residences that housed military personnel when the base was used by from 1955 to 1968 to help defend the metropolitan area from possible attack by the Soviet Union. The base also held 20 Ajax and 12 Hercules missiles. None were ever launched, and they were eventually removed from the site. Lead paint, as well as shingles containing asbestos, was found during testing done by Sayreville-based engineering firm CME Associates, Phillips said. "Nothing on that property was anything you wouldn't find in houses built in the '60s," Phillips said. The houses will be demolished when the township acquires the land, eliminating the concern they caused. There are seven houses on that portion of the site, including two that were burned by vandals, according to Township Business Administrator Mike Jacobs. "We'll have to spend, probably another $250,000, to remove the houses right away," Jacobs said. According to Phillips, the 6-acre site will not be acquired as open space. Instead, it will likely be used for a storage area for township and police equipment, or possibly a commuter parking lot. It would serve this purpose well because of its location along the Route 9 corridor, where it meets Jake Brown Road, Phillips said. Another portion of the site, comprising over 40 acres and owned by the U.S. Army, is still in the testing process, officials said. If acquired by the township, it would most likely be preserved as open space, Jacobs said. A phase one investigation conducted there revealed some areas that were considered suspect, according to Jacobs. In 11 instances, places where grass would not grow were identified and earmarked for further testing. "There were several areas of concern," Phillips said. "We won't buy it until they are mediated. So far, the testing on it has not shown anything there of major concern." The federal government required a phase two investigation at the site after the township submitted the phase one results, Jacobs said. The phase two results have been submitted, but Jacobs said he is expecting that further work will be requested by federal officials. "I think this is going to be a long-term exploration," Jacobs said. "At some point, we're going to have to come to an agreement with the federal government to clean up some spots."