NEW YORK – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized an amendment to its original cleanup plan for the Cosden Chemical Coatings Corp. Superfund site in Beverly, New Jersey, after assessing a new treatment method. This new cleanup technology will help break down hazardous contaminants into less toxic byproducts.
“EPA’s test of the new method to treat this groundwater was a success, and now we can move forward in using it on a full scale,” said EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “We’ve already treated a tremendous volume of groundwater using the common method of pumping and treating, but this new technique will be a more efficient way to reduce the contamination.”
The cleanup technique, called in-situ chemical oxidation, uses various oxidizing chemicals to spur the reduction of harmful compounds found in contaminated groundwater. In 2021 EPA and the Army Corps injected the chemicals into the groundwater using 30 wells and confirmed that the in-situ chemical oxidation did transform the harmful contaminants in the Cosden site groundwater into less toxic byproducts. This method supplements EPA’s earlier groundwater pumping and treatment work which has been used to treat over 280 million gallons of water since 2009. The cleanup plan for this groundwater also requires long-term monitoring to ensure the cleanup is working as intended.
The Cosden Chemical Coatings Corp. was a paint formulation and manufacturing company that began operating in 1945 and produced coatings for industrial applications. The company recycled manufacturing solvents until 1974. However, inadequate controls allowed waste generated by facility operations to contaminate soil and groundwater with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), metals, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
After the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection discovered spills and several hundred unsecured drums at the site, EPA took action to remove some of that contamination and finalized an initial plan to clean up areas of the site. EPA issued a plan in 1992 to address the contaminated building, soil, and groundwater. The building was demolished, and the soil was cleaned up. EPA continued to oversee the groundwater treatment plant until it put operations on hold to assess a treatment technology to speed up the groundwater cleanup using chemical oxidation.
On July 29, 2022, EPA released its proposed plan to the public and held a virtual public meeting on August 16, 2022, to explain the plan and take comments. The Record of Decision Amendment released today addresses the comments received and formalizes EPA’s amendment to the selected cleanup plan.
Visit the Cosden Chemical Coating Corp. Superfund site profile page for additional background and to view the Record of Decision.
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