NEW YORK — After removing more than 450,000 tons of contaminated soil and cleaning up nearly 100 residential and commercial properties, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed to remove the Federal Creosote Superfund site in Manville, N.J. from the Superfund list of the most contaminated hazardous waste sites, according to a press release.
During the 1960’s, homes and a commercial mall were built on top of contaminated land on the Federal Creosote site, which had been used for more than 30 years to preserve railroad ties by treating them with toxic levels of chemical creosote, noted the release.
“When EPA began its cleanup of the Federal Creosote Superfund site, people were living in homes built directly over contaminated soil and lagoons of creosote waste,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck. “Today, the site has been cleaned up, the risks to people’s health addressed and the community can use this once-contaminated property productively.”
The EPA and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection have determined that all necessary cleanup actions have been completed and the site no longer poses a threat to people’s health or the environment, continued the release, and the EPA will continue to monitor ground water at the site and conduct periodic reviews to ensure that the cleanup continues to be protective.
According to the release, the public is encouraged to comment on the proposed deletion of the site through April 4.
Read the full release here.
