Date : Tue, 31 Mar 2015 11:35:10 -0400
For Immediate Release
March 19, 2015
Contact Jeff Tittel 609-558-9100
EPA Cornell-Dubilier Settlement Does not go far enough
Today, the EPA announced a settlement of $22 million for cleanup costs and NRD associated with the Cornell-Dubilier Electronics superfund site in South Plainfield, NJ. Under the settlement, D.S.C. of Newark Enterprises paid the EPA $16.2 Million and the state of New Jersey $1.2 Million. The Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also received $4.4 Million for natural resource damages. The cleanup is currently in its third stage and to date the estimated cleanup costs exceed $180 million. For too long, the EPA avoided full restoration of the site.
"We are glad that the polluters have to pay and are held accountable. However we believe that this settlement does not go far enough. There is still too much pollution left in the groundwater impacting the water supply and the environment. We believe that this settlement does not actually clean up the site and lets the polluters off the hook," said Jeff Tittel Director NJ Sierra Club.
The contaminated area provides the water supply for Middlesex County. The groundwater contains more than 26 different chemicals that are a risk to public health and drinking water supplies. Individually each chemical is hazardous and as they mix in the ground water they create a witch's brew that makes them even more hazardous. This site is in the Newark Basin, a sand stone formation that makes the cleanup of the ground water not that complex from a geologic perspective. Arsenic will also be released into the ground water, which is natural occurring in the sand stone rock putting health and safety at risk. If the toxins were not cleaned up, the toxins end up spreading to people's basements and homes through vapor intrusion.
The electronics company operated for 26 years in South Plainfield and dumped PCB-contaminated materials, including burying PCB-containing capacitors. Some of the contamination kept spreading after 1962 when the location closed. PCBs are known to cause cancer and can affect the immune, reproductive, nervous and endocrine systems. Other toxins disposed of were polychlorinated biphenyls, a chemical banned by the EPA in 1979.
The Superfund site is currently in the third stage of the cleanup, to monitor and prevent use of untreated and contaminated groundwater. For the third phase alone the EPA estimates a cost of $252 million.
"Just because you have a cleanup plan does not mean it is clean. Monitoring is not a cleanup and should not be used as an excuse to clean up the site. This site will end up sitting there for decades pushing more contamination and toxic chemicals into the environment, water supply, and community around them," said Tittel.
The fourth and final stage proposed is to clean up a nine mile stretch of Bound Brook, which includes dredging PCB-contaminated sediment, excavating soil from the flood plains, and excavating an area next to the old facility including the relocation of a 36-inch waterline, and keeping groundwater from the facility from discharging to Bound Brook.
"This is on the superfund list because it needs to be a priority clean up and not be allowed to sit there putting toxic chemicals in the community for the next 20 years. When you have a site that is this dirty and this complex it does not need monitoring it needs a complete clean up. We cannot allow these toxins to stay in the groundwater because they will get out impacting drinking water, streams and even worse vapors from the contamination will end up in homes effecting people's health," said Jeff Tittel. "They are settling this for less money than they should and not having a thorough clean up because of cost it, but it shouldn't be about cost, it should be about the cleanup. This is too little too late."