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EPA to Unveil Proposed Plan to Clean Up Ciba-Geigy Site

Release Date: 06/14/2000
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(#00118) New York, N.Y. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will unveil its proposed plan for cleaning up the Ciba-Geigy Superfund Site in Toms River, New Jersey at a public meeting on Thursday, June 15, 2000 at 7 p.m. at the Dover Township Municipal Building, 33 Washington Street, in Toms River. EPA invites all interested residents to attend the meeting to hear the details of the proposed remedy for the site. The public will have until August 15, 2000 to submit written comments to EPA about the proposal. At a public availability session on June 22, 2000 and at a public meeting on July 12, 2000, interested residents will have additional opportunities to speak to EPA representatives about the plan and submit oral comments. The 1,350-acre Ciba-Geigy Chemical Corporation Superfund site is located on Oak Ridge Parkway in Toms River. Ciba-Geigy began production of dyes and other products at the site in 1952. Over the years, Ciba-Geigy disposed of sludge and chemical waste on-site in several areas including: a drum disposal area (which houses approximately. 35,000 drums of chemical waste), a lime sludge disposal area, a 12-acre filtercake disposal area, five lagoons and a solid waste landfill. Spills and releases of chemicals from some of these areas resulted in an underground plume of contaminated groundwater and extensive soil contamination. Chemical contaminants include: benzene, trichloroethylene, chlorobenzene, 1,2-dichloroethane, toluene, arsenic and chromium. Since March 1996, the contaminated groundwater at the site has been addressed through an extensive series of wells that draw in the water at a rate of 2.7 million gallons a day, and send it to an on-site carbon-filtration system for treatment. On June 15, 2000, EPA will announce its proposed plan to address the areas at the Ciba site that contribute, or may in the future contribute to the groundwater contamination. Since early 1999, EPA has presented treatment options to the Toms River community which have included: transporting contaminated soils off-site for disposal; treating soils on-site through bioremediation using bacteria to break down contaminants; heating soils in an on-site thermal treatment unit to destroy contaminants; and containing contaminated materials in place to prevent the movement of contaminants to groundwater. EPA’s proposed plan will include one or more of these technologies. The upcoming public availability session will be held on June 22, 2000 from 2 p.m.- 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. at the Quality Inn on Route 37 East at Mule Road in Toms River. The next public meeting about EPA’s proposed plan will be held on July 12, 2000 at 7 p.m. at the Dover Township Municipal Building. For more information about the upcoming meeting and public availability session, please contact Natalie Loney of EPA at (212) 637-3639. Residents who are unable to attend EPA’s meetings may obtain a copy of the proposed plan at the Ocean County Library starting Friday, June 16, 2000. The library is located at 101 Washington Street in Toms River.