Tests Aimed at Resolving Toughest Issues at Cyanamid Superfund Site

In the coming months, residents will see a lot of activity and construction on the American Cyanamid Superfund site, in the Finderne area.

The work will set the stage for a pair of tests aimed at finding a way to remove the site's most difficult problem: a gooey, acidic black tar lying at the bottom of two ponds.

Russell Downey, director of Environmental Remediation for Pfizer, which acquired the land—and responsibility of cleaning it up—in the purchase of Wyeth in 2009, noted the tests are designed to prevent any of the tar's volatile components from escaping into the air.

If a successful method of cleaning the material is found and approved by the EPA, the last piece of the property's cleanup will be in place.

"We've been really focused on getting to a 'site-wide' remedy," Downey said in an interview last week.

The material was a byproduct of American Cyanamid's production at the site. The tar is highly sulphuric—thanks to sulphuric acid added to it—and when the company couldn't find a way of disposing of it in the 1940s through the 1960s, it was dumped into two ponds totaling about four acres, and covered with water to prevent its sulphur stink from rising.

Downey noted the challenge of cleaning the material lies in the fact it's highly corrosive and releases volatile chemicals into the air when raised from the ponds.

The tests will try to clean the material in two ways: one will heat the tar, then look to burn the remaining and inert material; the second method will mix the tar with other chemicals to stabilize it.

"We're going to be able to destroy the contaminants in there," Downey said. 

Both tests will be done inside sealed caissons, seven-feet in diameter, made of 3/4-inch steel. All gases emitted will be captured and purified at the site.

"The difference between this approach and what's been done on the past is it's treated where it is," Elaine Richardson, vice president of Vita Nuova, a company specializing in restoration of properties, said.

Downey said the tests are likely to begin in December and will take about three months. After that, a report will be prepared and submitted to the EPA on the results, with an eye towards obtaining final approval for one of the methods to be used to finish cleaning the material.

Which will complement the plans the company has already received approval for on the cleanup of the contaminated groundwater on the site.

Downey said the total cleanup may take up to 10 years, after which the property could be redeveloped, with only a small section near the Bridgewater train station suitable for commercial development. Most of the land, which is in the Raritan River flood plain, is not going to be used for commercial purposes again, Downey said.

And between now and the final cleanup, the river flooding is one of the major concerns for the cleanup project—the company scrambled to make sure none of the material escaped or leached into flood waters after Hurricane Irene. Testing showed none had, but as a precaution, Downey noted a non-soluble matting has been placed over the tar that keeps its separated from the water above it.

Furthermore, the company has bolstered berms around the pond and near the river to minimize the impact of flooding.

The EPA is expected to schedule a public hearing in October for residents to obtain more information on the test plans.