Diamond Head Oil Refinery Superfund Site

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The Diamond Head Oil Refinery is a former oil reprocessing facility located in Kearny, New Jersey, United States, that was designated as a Superfund site by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It opened up in 1946, but then stopped production in 1979 and has been inactive since then. The refinery was shut down in 1980 and the EPA designated it as a Superfund site in 1991 due to the discovery of toxic chemicals in the soil and the surface water. This created a dangerous work environment for the workers at the facility. The EPA proposed a clean up plan for the site, but it has yet to take effect. So far, the Diamond Head site is still in the process of being cleaned up. Although cleanup plans were discussed and finalized, the future of the Diamond Head Oil Refinery and its cleanup state is unknown.

Contents

Origins

A property purchased by Mayor William Sandford in 1668 became known as Kearny, New Jersey in 1867. The township held a copper mine and was responsible for helping create the steam engines. The township was named after General Phil Kearny of the United States military. The owner of the companies who were in charge of Diamond Head was Robert Mahler.

Town history

The township of Kearny, New Jersey was created in 1867. Mayor William Sandford obtained the property in 1668. It was then bought in 1701 by Sandford's friend, Mayor Nathaniel Kingsland, who then sold the land to Captain Arent Schuyler. Schuyler opened up a copper mine in the area, and was able to create the first steam engine in America. This steam engine allowed for a deeper mine shaft to be created. When the area became more populated in the nineteenth century, it was named Kearny after Major General Phil Kearny, a United States military officer who served in the Mexican–American War.

Company history

The Diamond Head Oil Refinery was run under multiple companies: PSC Resources, Inc., Ag-Met Oil Service, Inc., and Newtown Refining Corporation. Robert Mahler was the owner of all of these companies while Diamond Head was still active.

Superfund designation

Diamond Head Oil Refinery became a Superfund site in 2002 after the state of New Jersey and the EPA decided that the site was too dangerous with chemicals. Both the state and the EPA performed their own investigative assessments on the site, researching the extent of the contamination along with the types of chemicals the site is contaminated with.

State involvement

The state of New Jersey issued a site assessment in May 2001 to investigate the extent of the damages and pollution at Diamond Head Oil Refinery. When they reported on the chemical exposure there, they said this: “According to the USEPA Expanded Site Inspection (December 1999), the environmental media at the site, including soils, sediments and groundwater, are contaminated. The contaminants include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semiVOCs and heavy metals, and are present at levels of potential health concern. Environmental/ecological threats to surface water were also suggested. However, no known drinking water intakes are located in any surface waters within 15 miles downstream of the site. In addition, commercial fishing is prohibited in nearby surface waters (USEPA, 1991). Recreational fishing does not occur in the region of the site.” [1]

EPA involvement

The EPA performed several phases of Remedial Investigation to identify what was wrong with the site and to identify the extent of the contamination. These were performed between 2003 and 2009. In 2009, a Feasibility Study was performed to discuss different clean up options for the waste at the site. In 2016, another Feasibility Study was performed to address the contaminants in the soil. [2]

Health and environmental hazards

The Diamond Head Oil Refinery has about three different kinds of dangerous chemicals polluting the area around it. All of these chemicals are dangerous for people to be exposed to since exposure to these chemicals can cause serious damage to people. The soil and surface waters around the site are heavily polluted by these chemicals. These chemicals polluting the site are what makes Diamond Head a Superfund site.

Polychlorinated biphenyls

One of the chemicals found at the site was PCB. PCB, or Polychlorinated biphenyls, are mixtures of colorless chemicals with no taste or smell. PCBs were originally produced to be used as insulation, coolants, and lubricants for a variety of electrical equipment. The production of PCBs was stopped in 1977 because it was suspected of certain harmful health and environmental effects. It is a dangerous chemical to humans and can cause damages to the liver if exposed to a large amount of it. Swallowing PCBs can result in coma or death. [3]

Volatile organic compounds

Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are organic compounds that can easily become vapors or gases. These compounds are released from burning fuel and are also emitted from oil fields and diesel exhaust. Most compounds are hazardous air pollutants, so it is more common to be exposed by breathing in the air that is polluted. Some VOCs have no known health effects, while others can cause damage to the liver and nervous system. [4]

Clean up

The EPA came up with a plan to clean the Diamond Head Oil Refinery. However, that plan has not taken its effect. The site still remains untouched and the estimated date of cleanup is unknown.

Initial cleanup

In 2009, the EPA proposed a plan to excavate and remove 2 feet of contaminated soil and cover the rest of the contaminated soil with clean fill. 49,000 cubic feet of contaminated soil will be removed from the site, and the removal will cost $14 million. [5]

Current status

Currently, the Diamond Head Oil Refinery has not been effectively cleaned up. The plan that was proposed has yet to go into effect, and the site remains inactive. There is no more information on when the plan to clean the site will take place.

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Polychlorinated biphenyl Chemical compound

polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB). PCB's are a highly toxic product whose production was banned by United States federal law in 1978, and by the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2001. It is an organic chlorine compound with the formula C12H10−xClx. Polychlorinated biphenyls were once widely deployed as dielectric and coolant fluids in electrical apparatus, carbonless copy paper and in heat transfer fluids.

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Emmell's Septic Landfill (ESL) is located at 128 Zurich Ave, Galloway Township, New Jersey and takes up about 38 acres of space. The landfill was in operation from 1967 until 1979. ESL disposed of liquid and solid waste including many chemicals such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), Trichloroethene and Vinyl chloride which all had their own effect on the environment and community. These chemicals affected the groundwater required millions of dollars to reconstruct the groundwater pathways and provide clean water to residents. The landfill holds a Hazardous Ranking Score of a 50/100, qualifying for the Superfund National Priority List. In August 1999, the state acknowledged the site's contamination and held town meetings and provided research upon the site such as groundwater samples. In July 1997, a sitewide investigation was called upon by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. In total the clean up was estimated to cost $5 million to fund this superfund site, and a grant of $3.9 million was given by the Federal Government under the Recovery Act Funding (Previti). Today, the project is still ongoing however, greatly improved since the landfill was discovered.

Bog Creek Farm, located in Howell Township, New Jersey, is a designated Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund site. Laying on 12 acres of land, Bog Creek Farm is home to several hazardous and life-threatening contamination beginning in 1973 and continuing for a year. Over a decade later, actions began to take place to clean and restore the contaminated soil and water. Bog Creek Farm is situated near several other farms that house horses, growing crops and flowers, and livestock. Less than a mile down the road lies Allaire State Park, a park used by golfers, hunters, and fisherman.

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Sharkey Landfill

Sharkey Landfill is a 90-acre property located in New Jersey along the Rockaway and Whippany rivers in Parsippany, New Jersey. Landfill operations began in 1945, and continued until September 1972, when large amounts of toluene, benzene, chloroform, dichloroethylene, and methylene chloride were found, all of which have are a hazard to human health causing cancer and organ failure. Sharkey Landfill was put on the National Priority List in 1983, and clean up operations ran until the site was deemed as not a threat in 2004.

The Pohatcong Valley Groundwater Contamination superfund site is located in Warren County, Franklin Township, Washington Township, and Washington Borough in New Jersey. It was recognized in the 1970s but not designated into the National Priorities List until 1989. It is a contamination of the Kittany Limestone Aquifer underlying the Pohatcong Valley. This toxic site stretches across 9,800 acres of land. The chemicals that are polluting the groundwater and soil are trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE). If someone were to be exposed to these harmful toxins for a short amount of time it can result in unconsciousness. Long term effects unfortunately include liver and kidney problems. The plans to clean up this superfund site are costing the companies involved, Pechiney Public Packaging Inc., Bristol Meyers Squibb Company, Albea Americas Inc, and Citigroup Inc, about $92 million, and the situation still has not been completely resolved.

The Burnt Fly Bog Superfund Site is located in Marlboro Township in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Contamination began in the 1950s and 1960s. It was used as a dumping ground for hazardous chemicals and oils. This site was used to reprocess or recycle oil, and it was also used as a landfill during the 1950s. The contamination affected the surface water and soil. The EPA got involved in the 1980s and addressed the situation. Human health concerns were a main part of the EPA getting involved because residents lived only about 1,000 to 2,000 feet around the site. Major components of the remedy included excavation and off-site disposal of contaminated soil from Northerly Wetlands, Tar Patch Area. The back filling of the areas addressed, monitoring of the surface water and sediments, and biological sampling in the Westerly Wetlands. The current status of the site is complete. The remedial stages were completed in the late 1990s and a five-year monitoring of the surface water was completed around 2004.

Forest Waste Products

Forest Waste Products is a 120-acre (49-hectare) Superfund site in Forest Township northwest of Otisville, Michigan.

References

  1. ↑ "Site Visit Report: Diamond Head Oil Refinery". New Jersey Department of Health. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  2. ↑ "Diamond Head Oil Refinery". EPA. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  3. ↑ "Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)". Toxtown.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  4. ↑ "Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)". Toxtown.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  5. ↑ TendersInfo. ""United States: EPA Proposes Cleanup of Hazardous Waste Site in Kearny, N.J."". LexisUni. Retrieved 25 September 2017.

Coordinates: 40°44′59″N74°08′07″W / 40.7498°N 74.1354°W / 40.7498; -74.1354

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