Passaic River cleanup update

[Lard Almighty]

Progress is being made in the Passaic River cleanup. At the very least, we are moving from the litigation stage to the actual cleanup stage. Press release describing the most recent rulings available here:

http://www.nj.gov/dep/newsrel/2012/12_0061.htm

Excerpt for Record of Decision for Diamond Alkali/Diamond Shamrock, a major contributor to dioxin contamination in the river:

SITE DESCRIPTION: THE 80 LISTER AVENUE SITE OCCUPIES APPROXIMATELY 3.5 ACRES IN THE IRONBOUND SECTION OF
NEWARK. IT IS BOUNDED ON THE NORTH BY THE PASSAIC RIVER, ON THE EAST BY THE FORMER SERGEANT CHEMICAL COMPANY
(120 LISTER AVENUE, NOW OWNED BY DIAMOND SHAMROCK CORPORATION), AT THE SOUTHEAST CORNER BY THE DURALAC
COMPANY, AND ON THE SOUTH AND WEST BY THE SHERWIN-WILLIAMS COMPANY. ALTHOUGH PRESENTLY INACTIVE, THE SITE
WAS USED FOR MANUFACTURING VARIOUS AGRICULTURAL AND SPECIALTY ORGANIC CHEMICALS FROM 1914-1977. THE MOST
SIGNIFICANT PERIOD RELATIVE TO CONTAMINATION OBSERVED AT THE SITE IS FROM THE END OF WORLD WAR II TO THE
MID-1970S. DURING THIS TIME, PESTICIDES AND PHENOXY HERBICIDES WERE THE PRIMARY PRODUCTS MANUFACTURED.
DIOXIN MAY OCCUR AS A CONTAMINANT IN THESE PRODUCTS.
BACKGROUND: CONCERN ABOUT THE POTENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF DIOXIN IN THIS AREA DEVELOPED AS INFORMATION
BECAME AVAILABLE REGARDING MANUFACTURING PROCESSES WHICH HAD THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE UNWANTED
TOXIC BY-PRODUCTS INCLUDING DIOXIN. IN THE SPRING OF 1983 A COMPREHENSIVE SAMPLING PROGRAM WAS IMPLEMENTED
BY THE NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (NJDEP) TO INVESTIGATE FACILITIES WHICH MIGHT HAVE
PRODUCED DIOXIN. THE PRESENCE OF DIOXIN AT THE 80 LISTER AVENUE SITE WAS IDENTIFIED IN MAY 1983. SUBSEQUENT
TO THIS FINDING, DIOXIN WAS ALSO DISCOVERED IN SEVERAL AREAS THROUGHOUT THE IRONBOUND SECTION OF NEWARK.
BASED ON THE RESULTS OF INITIAL INVESTIGATIONS, DIAMOND SHAMROCK ENTERED INTO AN
ADMINISTRATIVE CONSENT ORDER (ACO) WITH THE NJDEP ON MARCH 13, 1984. THE ACO REQUIRES THAT DIAMOND SHAMROCK
SECURE THE SITE, PREVENT EXPOSURE TO CONTAMINANTS, DETERMINE THE EXTENT OF CHEMICAL CONTAMINATION, AND
COMPLETE A SITE EVALUATION AND A FEASIBILITY STUDY OF REMEDIAL ALTERNATIVES. ON DECEMBER 20, 1984, DIAMOND
SHAMROCK ENTERED INTO A SECOND ACO (ACO II) WITH NJDEP WHICH REQUIRES THE INVESTIGATION AND CLEANUP OF ALL
AFFECTED OFF-SITE AREAS OF CONTAMINATION IN THE IRONBOUND SECTION OF NEWARK.

Full Record of decision here (warning: tl;dr even for me):

http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/r...t/r0287053.pdf