Site Name: RINGWOOD MINES LANDFILL
EPA ID: NJD980529739 EPA Region: 02 Metro Statistical Area: 6040
PETERS MINE RD, RINGWOOD, NJ 07456
Site Description:
SERIES OF ABNDONED MINE SHAFTS & PITS, INACTIVE LF'S & OPEN DUMPS O.5X2.0 MI. RINGWOOD BORO'S WATER SOURCE NEAR SITE. PETER'S MINE FILLED W/PAINT SLUDGES/SOLVENTS/SCRAP METAL. SURFICIAL PAINT SLUDGE DUMPED IN LOW LYING DEPRESSIONS.
Operable Unit:
ROD ID: EPA/ROD/R02-88/075 ROD Date: 09/29/88
Contaminant: PETROLEUM; HYDROCARBONS; METALS; ARSENIC; LEAD
Keys: ALTERNATE CLOSURE; ARARS; ARSENIC; DIRECT CONTACT; DRINKING WATER CONTAMINANTS; EXCAVATION; FILLING; GROUND WATER; GROUND WATER MONITORING; LEAD; MCLS; METALS; O&M; OFFSITE DISPOSAL; ORGANICS; RCRA CLOSURE REQUIREMENTS; SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT; SOIL; STATE CRITERIA; STATE GUIDANCE; VOCS
Abstract:
THE RINGWOOD MINES/LANDFILL SITE CONSISTS OF APPROXIMATELY 500 ACRES IN A HISTORIC MINING DISTRICT IN RINGWOOD BOROUGH, PASSAIC COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. THE MINES LIE WEST OF AND ADJACENT TO THE TOWN OF RINGWOOD AND ONE MILE NORTHWEST OF WANAQUE RESERVOIR. THE SITE IS CHARACTERIZED BY A VARIETY OF FEATURES INCLUDING ABANDONED MINE SHAFTS AND SURFACE PITS, AN INACTIVE LANDFILL, AN INDUSTRIAL REFUSE DISPOSAL AREA, SMALL SURFICIAL DUMPS, A MUNICIPAL RECYCLING AREA, A MUNICIPAL GARAGE, AND APPROXIMATELY 50 RESIDENCES. GROUND WATER BENEATH THE SITE DISCHARGES TO SURFACE STREAMS AND THE WANAQUE RESERVOIR. THE RINGWOOD MINES ARE A SERIES OF IRON ORE MINES THAT OPERATED FROM THE MID-1700S TO THE EARLY 1900S AND POSSIBLY EVEN LATER. THE SITE WAS PURCHASED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT PRIOR TO 1940, AND LATER SOLD TO A SUCCESSION OF OWNERS INCLUDING RINGWOOD REALTY CORPORATION (RRC), A SUBSIDIARY OF FORD MOTOR COMPANY (FORD), IN JANUARY 1965. BETWEEN 1967 AND 1974, RRC DEPOSITED WASTE PRODUCTS FOR FORD, INCLUDING CAR PARTS, SOLVENTS, AND PAINT SLUDGES, ON THE GROUND SURFACE AND IN ABANDONED MINE SHAFTS. IN 1970, RRC DONATED 290 ACRES IN THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE SITE TO RINGWOOD SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY (RSWM), WHICH BEGAN OPERATING A PERMITTED MUNICIPAL DISPOSAL AREA IN MARCH 1972. IN 1976, THE NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (NJDEP) CLOSED THE LANDFILL AFTER DETERMINING THAT LEACHATE EMANATING FROM THE LANDFILL WAS CONTAMINATING SURFACE WATER IN THE AREA. IN JULY 1982, NJDEP DETECTED MODERATE LEVELS OF VOCS, AS WELL AS NATURALLY OCCURRING HEAVY METALS, IN GROUND WATER IN THE NORTHERN SECTION OF THE SITE, WHICH HAD BEEN RETAINED BY RRC AND A PORTION USED FOR INDUSTRIAL WASTE DISPOSAL. THE SITE WAS SUBSEQUENTLY DIVIDED INTO FOUR DISCRETE AREAS FOR INVESTIGATION. BETWEEN OCTOBER 1987 AND FEBRUARY 1988, FORD INTERNATIONAL SERVICES, INC. CONDUCTED A REMOVAL ACTION, ENTAILING EXCAVATION AND OFFSITE DISPOSAL OF 7,000 YD3 OF SURFICIAL PAINT SLUDGE CONTAINING LEAD AND ARSENIC FROM FOUR ONSITE AREAS. SUBSEQUENT SAMPLING, HOWEVER, INDICATED THAT SOIL WITHIN A SMALL AREA (LESS THAN ONE ACRE) STILL CONTAINS CONCENTRATIONS OF LEAD AND TOTAL PETROLEUM HYDROCARBONS IN EXCESS OF HEALTH-BASED LEVELS. FURTHERMORE, THERE IS SPORADIC AND MODERATE GROUND WATER CONTAMINATION, GENERALLY CONFINED TO PAINT SLUDGE LOCATIONS, EXCEEDING MCLS FOR LEAD AND ARSENIC. THE PRIMARY CONTAMINANTS OF CONCERN AFFECTING THE SOIL AND GROUND WATER ARE ARSENIC, LEAD, AND PETROLEUM HYDROCARBONS. THE SELECTED REMEDIAL ACTION FOR THIS SITE INCLUDES; CONFIRMATORY SAMPLING OF SOIL WITH EXCAVATION AND OFFSITE DISPOSAL OF ANY SOIL EXCEEDING HEALTH-BASED LEVELS, FOLLOWED BY BACKFILLING AND REVEGETATION; AND GROUND WATER, SURFACE WATER AND WETLANDS MONITORING. SINCE GROUND WATER IN THE VICINITY OF THE PAINT SLUDGE AREAS IN NOT USED AS A DRINKING WATER SOURCE AND NATURAL ATTENUATION IS EXPECTED TO REDUCE CONTAMINATION LEVELS OF BELOW HEALTH BASED LEVELS AFTER REMOVAL OF THE SOURCE, GROUND WATER WILL NOT BE TREATED. THE ESTIMATED CAPITAL COST FOR THIS REMEDIAL ACTION IS $225,000 WITH ANNUAL O&M OF $50,000.
Remedy:
THE REMEDIAL ACTION IDENTIFIED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS DESIGNED TO ADDRESS POTENTIAL SOIL, SURFACE WATER AND GROUND-WATER CONTAMINATION AT THE RINGWOOD MINES/LANDFILL SITE. A SURFICIAL PAINT SLUDGE REMOVAL ACTION WAS CONDUCTED AT THE SITE PURSUANT TO A CERCLA 106 UNILATERAL ORDER TO REMEDIATE SOIL CONTAMINATION AND TO ELIMINATE THE DIRECT CONTACT HAZARD TO HUMAN HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT. UNDER THE UNILATERAL ORDER ANY SOIL CONTAMINATED WITH LEAD AND TOTAL PETROLEUM HYDROCARBON CONCENTRATIONS THAT EXCEED THE NEW JERSEY CLEANUP OBJECTIVES FOR SOIL WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE SITE. THERE IS NO DETECTABLE GROUND-WATER CONTAMINANT PLUME AT THE SITE, AND CONTAMINATION IS NOT ENTERING THE SURFACE WATERS WHICH DRAIN THE SITE. A LONG-TERM GROUND-WATER AND SURFACE-WATER MONITORING PROGRAM WILL BE INITIATED AT THE SITE. THE LONG-TERM MONITORING PROGRAM WILL LAST A MINIMUM OF THIRTY YEARS. THE MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THE MONITORING PROGRAM INCLUDE:
* SAMPLING AND ANALYSES OF POTABLE WELLS IN THE VICINITY OF THE SITE.
* PERFORMANCE OF GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS IN ORDER TO DETERMINE GROUND-WATER FLOW AND OPTIMUM PLACEMENT OF MONITORING WELLS.
* PERFORMANCE OF SOIL AND ROCK GEOCHEMICAL SURVEYS TO DETERMINE BACKGROUND CONCENTRATIONS OF METALS.
* SAMPLING AND ANALYSES OF NEW AND EXISTING GROUND-WATER MONITORING WELLS, SURFACE WATERS, AND WETLANDS EXITING THE SITE.