Imperial Oil is a current Superfund

Superfund

Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances...

 site located off Orchard Place near Route 79 in Morganville

Morganville, New Jersey

Morganville is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Marlboro Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the CDP population was 5,040.Morganville has its own post office, with a ZIP code of 07751....

, Marlboro Township

Marlboro Township, New Jersey

-Weather:Marlboro is located close to the Atlantic Ocean. Due to the location Marlboro Township has on the Eastern Seaboard, the following weather features are noted:*On average, the warmest month is July where the average high is and the average low is ....

, Monmouth County

Monmouth County, New Jersey

Monmouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 630,380, up from 615,301 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Freehold Borough. The most populous municipality is Middletown Township with...

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

. This site is one of 114 Superfund sites in New Jersey. It is in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‎ (EPA) Region 2 Superfund area of control and organization. The 15 acres (60,702.9 m²) Imperial Oil Co./Champion Chemicals site consisted of six production, storage, and maintenance buildings and 56 above-ground storage tanks.

History

Industrial operations began in 1912 at the 15 acres (60,702.9 m²) Imperial Oil site when arsenic compounds were manufactured. An oil reclamation facility operated from 1950 to 1969 removing metals and PCBs from waste oil. While leased from Champion Chemicals, Imperial Oil

Imperial Oil

Imperial Oil Limited is Canada's largest petroleum company. The company is engaged in the exploration, production and sale of crude oil and natural gas. It is controlled by US based ExxonMobil, which owns 69.6% of its stock...

 Company blended oil at this site since 1969. However, this was not the only contamination to the site as several companies have operated at the site in the past. One, which reprocessed waste oil, may have discharged wastes to a nearby stream; another company produced arsenical pesticides. The site formerly contained a waste pile contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The soil at the site is contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), PCBs, metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), petroleum hydrocarbons, and phthalates

Phthalates

Phthalates , or phthalate esters, are esters of phthalic acid and are mainly used as plasticizers . They are used primarily to soften polyvinyl chloride...

, a plastics by-product. The site was added to the National Priorities List of Superfund sites in 1983. Imperial Oil continued to operate — with millions of dollars in U.S. military contracts — until 2007, when it went bankrupt.

Surrounding areas

According to the 2000 Census, there is 406,326 people living within 10 miles (16.1 km) of this site. The superfund site is currently surrounded by a large hurricane fence to prevent unauthorized entry into the site. Surrounding the site are many areas that also may be critically affected by the contaminants in the soil and water, including wetlands, wooded areas, streams, ponds and lakes. When investigated, Off-site sediments were contaminated with arsenic, lead, phthalates, and PCBs. The surface soil is contaminated with heavy metals including chromium, lead, and arsenic, and PCBs. Surface water contained arsenic. On April 15, 2004 - properties adjacent to the Imperial Oil Superfund site in Marlboro Township were the focus of a clean-up. More than 18,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment and soil were removed from Birch Swamp Brook and adjacent properties between the Imperial Oil site and Texas Road. Restoration of the brook and adjacent properties has followed in phases upon completion of excavation work. The contamination on the site affects the ground water at Englishtown Aquifer, an important source of water supply for Monmouth and Northern Ocean County residents.

Current site status

In 1991, EPA excavated and disposed of approximately 660 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated material from a waste filter clay pile located on-site. The contaminated soil beneath the former pile is covered with an impermeable material to prevent the infiltration of water and to prevent human contact. EPA installed extraction wells and an oil/water treatment system to remove the floating oil layer from the ground water. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is currently using these wells to continue the removal of floating oil. To date, NJDEP has removed over 20,000 gallons of PCB-contaminated oil. In 1998, EPA excavated and disposed of 6,488 cubic yards of contaminated soil (roughly equivalent to one football field, covered one yard deep) from four nearby residences. NJDEP completed a study determining the full nature and extent of the contamination. The cleanup plan calls for the excavation and off-site disposal of contaminated soil and removal and off-site incineration of floating product; dismantling buildings and tank farms needed to complete the soil excavation; and restoring wetlands. In 2004, NJDEP excavated and disposed of 14,889 cubic yards of contaminated soil and sediment from the Birch Swamp Brook and adjacent properties. In April 2009, Congressman Rush Holt announced Imperial Oil Superfund site is expected to get a $25 million-plus allotment of cash to complete the clean-up efforts. Mayor Hornik said "With this allocation of federal funds, the final stages of the cleanup of the Imperial Oil Site can begin."

Responsible parties

The following parties are potentially responsible for paying for the clean-up of the site:

• Champion Chemical—Morganville, NJ—Champion Chemical agreed to pay EPA $6 million in a settlement with the EPA. Champion failed to make payments required under a consent decree that both Champion and Imperial Oil had entered into with EPA in 2001. Under the consent decree, the settling parties had agreed to make monthly payments to the United States of $12,500, as well as other amounts as specified in the decree. EPA filed a motion to enforce the decree in spring 2007.
• Collier, Jacob & Sweet—Somerset, NJ
• Imperial Oil Company—Morganville, NJ—Inappropriate work conditions and a lack of secondary spill containment led the DEP to fine Imperial Oil $15,000 in 2004.
• J & M Land Company—Atlantic City, NJ
• Jersey Central Power & Light—Morristown, NJ
• Stevens, Emil & June—NJ

External links

• EPA Superfund Write-up