Preparations Underway to Remove Toxic Sediment From Lower Passaic River (NJ)
(New York, N.Y. – August 18, 2011) The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that work has
begun on removing 200,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment from
an area of the Passaic River near the Diamond Alkali Superfund site
located at 80 Lister Avenue in Newark, NJ. EPA and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers are overseeing the work, which is funded and
being performed by Tierra Solutions, Inc.
The work is being carried out at two locations
in the Ironbound section of Newark. Approximately 40,000 cubic
yards of the most highly contaminated, dioxin-laden sediment will
be removed beginning in Spring 2012 from within a sheet pile
enclosure adjacent to the Diamond Alkali site, then piped to a
processing facility that will be constructed one quarter mile
downstream at 117 Blanchard Street. There, the contaminated
sediment will be dewatered and loaded onto sealed containers and
transported off-site by train for disposal.
Over the next two months workers will prepare
and secure the site floodwall along the Passaic River. In October
work will begin on construction of a metal sheet pile enclosure in
the river. Construction of the enclosure is expected to last four
months. Dredging will be completed by the end of 2012.
The project was designed to protect the river,
workers, and the community. Use of a metal sheet pile enclosure
will isolate the contaminated materials from the river. Monitoring
will be performed at both work locations to ensure safe operations.
A Community Health & Safety Plan for the removal project was
developed by Tierra Solutions with input from the Passaic River
Community Advisory Group, who ensured that the concerns of the
community were considered in designing the cleanup
plan.
The Community Health & Safety Plan
incorporates a community hotline for the public to call at
1-888-283-7626. The public also can visit the removal project Web
site at https://passaicremovalaction.com/home.htm
to raise questions or concerns, get the latest
project information and to see the Community Health & Safety
Plan.
Phase 2 of the project involves the removal of
160,000 cubic yards of sediment with lower concentrations of
dioxin. Phase 2 work will undergo a separate engineering study and
proposal that will be submitted to the public for review and
comment at a later date. This two-phase removal project is one
installment in a much more comprehensive investigation of
contamination and evaluation of cleanup options for the lower eight
miles of the Passaic River and possibly other stretches of the
river and Newark Bay.
Information on the removal project and other
site cleanup activities is also available on the project Web sites
at http://www.ourpassaic.org or https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-2
Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/eparegion2
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