EPA Proposes New Cleanup Plan For Fair Lawn Superfund Site

FAIR LAWN, NJ — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Monday proposed a cleanup plan for the Fair Lawn Well Field Superfund site after discovering that soil and ground water at the site is contaminated.

Previous industrial and commercial activities at the site contaminated the soil and groundwater with chlorinated volatile organic compounds. The EPA is proposing to expand and enhance the system that extracts and treats the contaminated groundwater at the site.

The $19.5 million plan would expand three pump-and-treat systems at the Westmoreland Well Field to remove 1.4-dioxane, PFOA, and PFOS, all of which are potentially dangerous chemicals.

PFOA and PFOS have been used to make stain-resistant carpets and non-stick pans. They have been linked to kidney and testicular cancer.

The 1.4-dioxane is a carcinogen that can cause liver and kidney damage.

The site is comprised of four municipal wells, two of which supply drinking water to residents. Water from those wells will not be used for drinking until the new cleanup system is up and running.

In 1978, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were detected in the wells located in a residential neighborhood adjacent to the Fair Lawn Industrial Park. Two local companies, Thermo Fisher Scientific Company LLC and Sandvik Inc. , were identified as contributing sources to the groundwater contamination. The Site was placed on the Superfund National Priorities List in September 1983.

Several residences are within 300 feet of the site.

In mid-1995, EPA and the Fair Lawn Health and Water Department conducted a residential well sampling and analysis program to determine the usage and quality of residential well water.

Water in the wells is treated before it is distributed to the public and periodically tested by the borough to make sure it if safe to drink.

Vapor intrusion sampling was done in 2009, 2010, and 2013 at certain residential and commercial locations and at Westmoreland Elementary School in 2013.

Tests done in 2015 and 2015 of water from the area showed higher concentrations of 1.4, -dioxane reaching 7.4 micrograms per liter in 2015 and 8.59 micrograms in 2016, information released by the EPA Monday show.

Groundwater had concentrations of 271 micrograms of 1.4-dioxane, according to the EPA.

The EPA will host a public meeting Aug. 23 to explain the cleanup plan and to take public comments. It will be at the Fair Lawn Borough Council Chambers at 7 p.m. at 8-01 Fair Lawn Ave. Public comments will be accepted until Sept. 5. Written comments may be mailed to Michael Zeoila, remedial project manager, U.S. EPA, 290 Broadway, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10007 or emailed to him at zeolia.michael@epa.gov.

Email daniel.hubbard@patch.com

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