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EPA to Oversee Study of Bergen County Site ( Quanta Resources)

Release Date: 06/20/2005
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For Release: Monday, June 20, 2005

(#05068) NEW YORK -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will oversee an extensive environmental study of the Quanta Resources site, located in Edgewater, New Jersey. The study, scheduled to begin this summer, will be performed by Honeywell and the Edgewater Working Group.

"The results of the Quanta study will be used to develop a cleanup plan for protecting the community and the environment," said Acting EPA Regional Administrator Kathleen C. Callahan. "The responsible parties will perform the study at their own expense, and we will make sure that the work is done properly."

EPA, Honeywell, and the Edgewater Working Group have developed a plan to perform an in-depth environmental study of the nature and extent of contamination at the site. The study will look at the upland portion of the site (focusing on surface and subsurface soils, ground water and coal tar), the river portion of the site (focusing on coal tar and sediments in the Hudson River near the site) and indoor air sampling of neighboring properties.

With EPA oversight, Honeywell and the Edgewater Working Group have also replaced warning signs on the site that were previously vandalized, repaired perimeter fences and installed a new boom at the edge of the Hudson River to collect material seeping from the site.

Past industrial operations at the Quanta Resources site have contaminated the property, located at 163 River Road in Edgewater, New Jersey. Starting in the 1930s, Allied Chemical Corporation (now Honeywell) operated a coal tar distillation plant at the industrial property. In 1974, the industrial property was used by the Quanta Resources Corporation as a waste oil reprocessing plant until it was shut down in 1981.

Honeywell performed a series of short-term cleanups at the site between 1984 and 1987. The work, which was overseen by EPA, focused on cleaning and decommissioning abandoned storage tanks and piping. Subsequent sampling at the site revealed the presence of residual contamination in the soils, ground water and sediments that pose a long term risk to human health or the environment. The site was listed on the National Priorities List of the nation's most hazardous waste sites in September 2002.

EPA will hold a public information session on June 28, 2005, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., and a public information meeting from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., at the Edgewater Community Center located at 1167 River Road in Edgewater, New Jersey. The afternoon session is intended for informal discussions with individuals or small groups, while the evening meeting will include a presentation with a question-and-answer period in a larger group setting.