An Atomic Legacy

Traces of contamination still linger in Middlesex by Mike Jagacki On March 13, 2016

***3Rd Place: NJ’s Dirty Little Secret’s Project***

---

There is a vast field in the town of Middlesex, fenced off with barbed wire. The field is vacant of any trees, and barely seems to support the grass that grows inside it. “Do Not Enter” signs are posted along the fence.

The 9.6-acre field is an artifact from World War II, when it was part of the Manhattan Project, used to help build the atomic bomb. This field was used to test some of the component materials, such as uranium, thorium and beryllium. But the fury that took four years to create and use the bomb has not been reflected in the speed of contaminated site cleanup.

A chain-link fence was first erected around the radioactive site in 1946. Radioactive waste lay behind it for decades, but over the past 17 years, two 20-foot piles of dirt were removed, abandoned buildings demolished and the soil deemed clean. Yet there are still signs of water contamination – the field remains fenced off.

“It has never been the prettiest thing to look at, but at least now it just looks like a field and not a dump,” said a neighbor, who asked not to be identified.

The last published test in 2010 found traces of lead and radioactive contaminants in nearby water testing wells. The US Army Corps of Engineers, which is now responsible for site cleanup, and the office of Middlesex Mayor Ronald DiMura declined comment.

The EPA, however, is conducting a groundwater investigation, and using that information to generate a feasibility assessment. The district already plans to do another study in 2017.

The US Army Corps of Engineers assumed responsibility for site remediation from the EPA 20 years ago. Initially, area residents were worried that the change in agencies would slow progress, but within two years, the Corps carted away the dirt, demolished some contaminated buildings and added the site to the federal Superfund list.

“As far as I’m concerned, I never had any problems with them,” said Clem Ianiero, who has lived next to the site for nearly 45 years.

The fence in his backyard is simply the continuation of the chain-linked fence that surrounds the area. It is the house he grew up in, and now calls his own.

Ianiero remembers when the site first came under investigation. In late 1970s, large amounts of soil, almost 5 feet deep, were removed from all five homes bordering the area.

“We would have to use a ladder to get to the front door,” Ianiero recalled.

It was just something everyone had to do, he said. But he also credits the authorities for putting all the soil back, laying down a new sidewalk and seeding the grass in his yard. Whenever the agency needed to use his land or drive over it, they would offer to pay his father for the usage. The fence that surrounds his home, which continues into the front yard, was offered in exchange for allowing the agency to remove the trees on the property.

“This entire area used to be full of trees, but now you look around, and there isn’t even one on the block,” he pointed out.

He recalled how his house would shake during building demolition, as the Corps pounded away at the 3-foot thick concrete walls and floors. But for the most part, these are simply stories, not complaints.

The Middlesex Sampling plant was built in 1943. The covert facility sampled, stored and tested various chemical ores for the Manhattan Project; its primary focus was uranium testing. By 1950, the sampling plant was still involved in the shipment and storage of bars of uranium, thorium and beryllium. It wasn’t until 1967 when activities here were terminated, and decontamination began.

Decontamination guidelines were much less strict back then. The expectation of the time called for eradication to levels “as low as reasonably achievable.” Thus the area was cleared for unrestricted use, and in 1968 was used as a training ground for the US Marine Corps.

Not until 1980, when radioactive material was identified here, did the Department of Energy designate the land as a cleanup site. Upon further investigation, waste was found to have contaminated the Middlesex Municipal Landfill. Identified materials were transported back to the sampling plant, compacted into two huge dirt piles, wrapped in polyethylene sheaths and placed on top of a large concrete slab.

“I remember coming home from deployment one day and just seeing two huge piles of dirt and tires. It looked more like a dump more than anything else,” recalled a resident whose property abuts the site.

This was the first sign that the cleanup project had started; two, 20-foot high, piles of radioactive dirt formed in 1986. But the piles weren’t removed until 1999.

Next came the demolition of the remaining sampling plant buildings and the concrete slab, in 2005, and simultaneous remediation efforts of contaminated soil and wastewater.

Soil remediation was finished in 2009. However, the final report still speaks of concerns. The last soil excavation survey listed two samples as potentially “left in the ground:” one contained the chemical compound Benzo (k) fluoranthene, and the other an amount of lead above regulation criteria.

The Corp’s project’s management division wrote in a letter to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection in reaction to the findings: “Given the extent of the removal action performed and the volume of contaminated material removed at the [Middlesex Sampling Plant] site, and the fact that we only have one slightly elevated lead exceedance that was not remediated and the lead sampling results from survey area 17, we view this to be de minims.”

The letter also mentions an “attached map” which indicates in “red-highlighted samples or locations” where sample results exceed RDCSCC, but may not have been excavated.

When request was made for this map, the Army Corps said all material could be found at the Middlesex Public Library. The map could not be found nor, was it attached to the published final report.

The letter concludes by requesting the state DEP’s concurrence on the issue, and recommendation that no future action take place. The DEP approved the completion of the soil remediation project.

So although questions still linger around the site’s soil contamination, local residents like Ianiero show little fear of any health concerns. In the corner of his property, on the edge of the former sampling plant, there’s a small garden. When asked if he had any concerns about the proximity, he laughed, mentioning how big his tomatoes grow.

The Middlesex Sampling Plant site is getting closer to its goal of unrestricted use, but still remains on the list of Superfund sites for groundwater contamination.

There are over a dozen testing wells sprouting from the ground of the ex-sampling plant. There is even an underground one on the street next to a sewer drain.

Ianiero’s well on his property was found to be contaminated; the Corps paid to connect his home to the town water supply.