Contaminated Byram properties may be eligible for superfund money

BYRAM — Eighteen homes between the East Brookwood section of Byram and Sparta-Stanhope Road are contaminated with tricloroethylene. Mel Hauptman from the Environmental Protection Agency Superfund explained what tricloroethylene is at a public meeting on July 29. He said it is a known hazardous substance commonly used as a solvent to remove oil and grease from metal and machinery. It’s also used in spot removers and adhesives. It dissolves in water and can travel as a plume in underground aquifers for long periods of time. Tricloroethylene evaporates from surface water relatively quickly, producing hazardous fumes. According to the EPA’s Web site, possible health effects range from nausea and headaches to liver damage, heart conditions, various cancers, impaired fetal development and death. Representatives from the EPA attended the public meeting to announce a proposal to place the site on the National Priorities List for cleanup. “We are here early,” said Community Involvement Coordinator Pat Seppi, “which can be a double-edged sword. We want to get information out right away, but we are still in the working phase of this project but don’t have any definitive answers yet.” How it was discovered In 2005 a resident of East Brookwood discovered his home’s well was contaminated during water tests for the sale of the home, at which point the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Sussex County Department of Heath became involved. A word-of-mouth campaign and involvement by DEP to test drinking water resulted in other wells being identified. In all, 21 homes were found to be contaminated with the substance. The state installed carbon-based treatment systems to remove the contaminant and in-home systems to remove fumes. The state’s DEP then discovered the source of the contamination. The EPA was contacted in the fall of 2009 to see if the contamination situation was serious enough for the Removal Action Program which is a program that, if the site meets the requirements, would take away the contamination source. Initial assessments qualified the site for further consideration. If the site is found to be contaminated enough, it will be put on the list for access to Superfund money. What’s next An investigator has been assigned to the site to discover who was the site’s prior owner and who’s responsible for the pollution. After the EPA formalizes its findings for the removal action program, the public will then have a chance to comment. That is expected to begin in mid-September.