All News Releases By Date

EPA to Begin Next Phase of Cleanup at Superfund Site in Newark - White Chemical Corporation

Release Date: 10/24/2005
Contact Information:

For Release: Monday, October 24, 2005

(#05119) NEW YORK -- The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established the plan for the next phase of cleanup work at the White Chemical Corporation Superfund site in Newark, New Jersey. Under the plan announced today, nine site buildings will be demolished, an above-ground storage tank farm will be removed and approximately 21,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil and sediments will be excavated and transported off-site to an appropriate disposal facility. The excavated area will be backfilled with clean soil and the site will be seeded in preparation for redevelopment. EPA's cleanup plan also includes an investigation of ground water under the site.

"We are eager to begin the next phase of the cleanup at White Chemical so that this site can be returned to productive use," said EPA Regional Administrator Alan J. Steinberg. "Contaminated properties like White Chemical detract from the vitality of the surrounding community. This plan will make this property viable once again."

The 4.4 acre White Chemical Corporation Superfund site in Newark is located on a major thoroughfare with significant residential, commercial and industrial activity. The White Chemical Corporation operated at the site from 1983 to 1990, producing chemical products. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) of the most contaminated hazardous waste sites in May 1991.

The site has been the subject of numerous inspections, studies and cleanups. The contaminants that are of concern at the site include volatile organic compounds such as
Trichloroethylene, 1,2-Dichloroethane and Xylenes. In September 1991, EPA selected a cleanup plan for the site, which included establishing security, treating and disposing of contaminated material, decontaminating storage tanks and process piping, decontaminating empty drums and containers and recycling or disposing of them off-site, and environmental monitoring. To date, over 9,000 drums, 12,000 laboratory chemical containers and approximately 50,000 gallons of liquids from process tanks have already been removed from the site.

For more information about this site, please visit the EPA Web site at https://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/0203357c.pdf.