Recovery Act to Fund $5M N.J. Superfund Cleanup
The EPA is allotting $5 million in stimulus funding to Monitor Devices/Intercircuits Inc. to cleanup a superfund site in Wall Township, N.J.
Part of the $600 million federal Superfund remedial program, the money will be used to address contaminated groundwater at the site as well as create jobs in Wall Township, according to the EPA.
The Wall Township Superfund site is just one of several on the EPA's National Priorities List Sites in New Jersey. Photo: EPA.gov
The groundwater remedy includes enhanced in-situ bioremediation, which, according to Waste & Recycling News, is “a process that uses natural microorganisms to digest contaminants and break them down into nonhazardous components.”
Superfund sites are areas that have been contaminated by mining waste, lead smelters, landfills and other chemical sources, leading to the contamination of ground water, soil, air and sediment. Common contaminants found at Superfund sites include asbestos, lead, mercury, arsenic and benzene, among others.
The sites are chosen for cleanup based on a variety of factors, including their construction readiness, risk to human health and the environment and environmental justice concerns and benefits.
“EPA has an answer to these challenging economic times,” says EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Under the Recovery Act, we’re getting harmful pollutants and dangerous chemicals out of these communities and putting jobs and investment back in.”
While Superfund site cleanups are generally positive, some communities oppose the designation. Many times when the federal government gets involved in a Superfund site designation and cleanup, there is a stigma is attached to the affected geographic region that can negatively impact future economic development. This was the main reason New York officials recently tried to save a Brooklyn canal from the Superfund site list.
