Clean Up of LCP Superfund Site
City of Linden
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking steps in protecting residents who live in the Tremley Point Area with the cleanup of the Superfund Site. They will begin with demolishing various buildings and structures on the site, this will make way to address the mercury-contaminated soil and groundwater. The EPA will also be monitoring the air and they will control dust and erosion during the demolition. They expect to have this project completed by mid-summer this year.
The cleanup plan also calls for a protective cap to cover the contaminated soil prevent it from leaching into groundwater and to make sure mercury vapor does not escape into the atmosphere. The nearby wetlands will be rebuilt after the contaminated sediment is dug up and put under the cap.
EPA Regional Administrator, Lisa Garcia said, “We are safely demolishing these buildings to clear a path for a cleanup that will address the risk this site poses to the people in the community.” She went on to say, “Once we have better access to areas under the building, we can more readily address the mercury contamination in the soil, as well as the underlying groundwater.”
This property is a 26-acre site which was home to the Linden Chlorine Products Chemical plant, also parcels were leased to Union Carbide, Microcell Technologies and Kuehne Chemical Company. The Hanlin Group, Inc which owned LCP Chemical, Inc. filed for bankruptcy in July of 1991.
“This property has been a Superfund site since 1998 and I am very excited that this cleanup will pave the way to get the property redeveloped,” said Mayor Armstead. “LCP shutdown operation in 1985 and having this site redeveloped and put back on the tax rolls will provide both economic and financial benefits to Linden. This clean-up has been a long time coming and I am grateful to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that this is finally happening.”
