Maywood Site

 Home
 BEMR Contents
 U.S. Map

The Maywood site is situated in a highly developed area of Bergen County that includes residential, commercial, and municipal property in the Boroughs of Maywood and Lodi and the Township of Rochelle Park. The site includes a 4.7­hectare (11.7­acre) soil storage site owned by the Department of Energy. The Maywood Interim Storage Site is bordered by State Route 17 on the west, by a New York Susquehanna and Western Railroad line on the north, and by commercial and industrial properties on the south and east. In addition to the Maywood Interim Storage Site, the Maywood site includes the adjacent 7.3­hectare (18­acre) Stepan property, which is occupied by an active chemical plant, and more than 80 residential, commercial, and governmental vicinity properties in Maywood, Lodi, and Rochelle Park.

LOCALITY MAP

FACILITY MISSION

From 1916 to 1959, Maywood Chemical Works extracted naturally occurring radioactive thorium and rare earth elements from monazite sand for use in commercial products. During those years, waste from the plant migrated or were moved offsite. Some of the process waste was taken to nearby properties in the form of mulch and fill material, but the primary route by which contamination spread was migration via the former Lodi Brook, which ran south as an open stream past the Chemical Works site and into the Borough of Lodi. Thorium waste in the brook settled onto properties along its path where commercial buildings and residential houses were later built.

SITE MAP

Stepan Company acquired the Maywood Chemical Works in 1959 and began cleaning up residual thorium waste in 1963, partially stabilizing residues and tailings. From 1966 through 1968, Stepan Company removed contaminated material from the property west of State Route 17 and buried it in three burial pits on the Stepan property. Based on results of an Atomic Energy Commission survey in 1968, the property was certified for use with no radiological restrictions and sold to a private citizen, who later sold it to Ballod Associates. Radioactive materials were discovered in the northeastern corner of the Ballod property in 1980; the contaminants detected were thorium­232 and radium­226. Subsequent surveys confirmed the presence of thorium­232 in soil and indicated that the contamination extended from the Stepan and Ballod properties onto areas to the north and south. Several residential vicinity properties were identified as being contaminated and requiring remediation.

The Maywood site was added to the Environmental Protection Agency National Priorities List in 1983 and assigned to FUSRAP in 1984. In 1985, the Department of Energy acquired a 4.7-hectare (11.7­acre) tract of land from Stepan for use as an interim storage area to expedite cleanups of nearby properties. These cleanups produced a 27,000-cubic-meter (35,000­cubic­yard) soil storage pile at the Department of Energy­owned site.

The risk to the public from the thorium on these properties is minimal. Concentrations are generally low, much of the material is inaccessible (subsurface or beneath structures), and thorium would present a health risk only if large quantities of affected soil were ingested. However, because the site includes so much publicly accessible property such as residences and parks, the community's desire for near-term cleanup is great.

FUTURE USE

Future use of the property now occupied by the soil storage area owned by the Department of Energy depends on resolution of the Record of Decision for the Maywood site. Once remediated, the land may be returned to the municipality or to ownership by the Stepan Company. Current zoning of the land is for high-rise residential development. This report assumes that the future use of neighboring residential and commercial/industrial properties will remain as it is today. The cost estimate assumes industrial/commercial or residential use after remediation, depending upon its current use.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION

Interim removal actions that will expedite the cleanup of the Maywood site are key to the overall site strategy. Removal actions are being conducted consistent with the overall remedy. These actions constitute Phase 1 of the Maywood site cleanup. They include removal of the soil storage pile and the cleanup of residential, municipal, and state­owned vicinity properties. These cleanups are being performed under two separate action memoranda. The site strategy also includes the ongoing evaluation of treatment technologies that could reduce the volume of soil requiring disposal, thereby significantly reducing cost. The ultimate Record of Decision for the overall site will incorporate the removal actions as well as the feasibility of treating soils generated during the cleanups, particularly during Phase 2, which addresses industrial, commercial, and governmental properties, where most of the affected soils [estimated to be 248,125 cubic meters (325,000 cubic yards)] are located.

The key regulator for the Maywood site is Environmental Protection Agency Region II; other regulators, including the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the local health department, also participate in oversight functions. In April 1991, the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency entered into a Federal Facilities Agreement, which sets the procedural framework and schedule for the cleanup and helps foster cooperation between the two agencies. The agreement is designed to ensure thoroughness and legal compliance during all phases of planning and implementation of the cleanup.

Although a Record of Decision on cleanup of the Maywood site as a whole is pending, portions of the site are being cleaned up through removal actions. Twenty-five residential properties and one undeveloped lot were cleaned up in the mid 1980s. The 27,000 cubic meters (35,000 cubic yards) of radioactively contaminated soil generated during the cleanups was transported to the Department of Energy-owned interim storage site in Maywood. Complete removal of the storage pile to an out­of­state permanent disposal site will be accomplished by the end of 1996. Phase 1 of cleanup addressing residential, municipal, and state­owned properties is scheduled to begin in the fall of 1995 and is expected to require three to four years for completion.

A key issue for the Maywood site involved a dispute that began in 1993 between the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency regarding soil cleanup criteria. The Department of Energy position was that the criteria should conform to a set of existing national standards that called for surface soils [the upper 15 centimeters (six inches)] to be cleaned to a level of five picocuries (above normal background levels) of radioactive material per gram of soil; all soils deeper than 15.2 centimeters (six inches) would need to meet a guideline of 15 picocuries per gram. The Environmental Protection Agency contended that a new set of cleanup guidelines specific to the Maywood site should be formulated. The dispute was resolved in March 1994 with guidelines set at five picocuries per gram for Residential properties, regardless of depth. For Industrial/Commercial properties, the guidelines were maintained at five picocuries per gram for surface soil and 15 picocuries per gram for subsurface soil, with a goal of five picocuries per gram if reasonably achievable.

Also at issue is the transportation of soil between neighboring boroughs. After creation of the original storage pile at the Department of Energy-owned site in Maywood, residents of the borough did not want any more of the soil that had been generated during Lodi cleanups to be stored there. Consequently, the Department suspended cleanup of residential properties in Lodi. An agreement is now being negotiated with Maywood borough officials that will allow some Lodi soil to be brought to Maywood, where a suitable railroad loading area already exists, to be loaded into rail cars for transportation out of state.

Documentation for the remaining actions to be taken for the site include the feasibility study, the proposed plan, and the Record of Decision. Engineering Evaluations/Cost Analyses will document removal actions used to expedite portions of the cleanup process, such as for vicinity properties.

Major Environmental Restoration Activity Milestones

TASK	COMPLETION DATE Fiscal Year
Assessment (Record of Decision)	1996
Remedial Action	2015

ASSESSMENT

In 1981, after elevated levels of thorium were discovered on the Stepan property and an adjacent lot, an aerial radiological survey of the site area was performed. Walkover surveys and sampling programs followed in 1983. Radiological and chemical characterization of Maywood Interim Storage Site, the storage pile, and vicinity properties continued throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, as necessary, to establish a basis for selecting cleanup approaches appropriate to various portions of the site. A Remedial Investigation was completed for the site in 1992. A baseline risk assessment has also been completed for the site to address risks to the public based on current and future use scenarios, and the Environmental Protection Agency and the State have reviewed several drafts of a Feasibility Study in preparation for remedial action. Additional soil sampling on residential vicinity properties in Lodi was conducted in March 1995 to better delineate areas of contamination in preparation for cleanup.

Radioactive contamination at relatively low concentrations has been found extensively in soils of the properties that make up the Maywood site. The principal sources of contamination identified at the site are surface and subsurface soils in the areas where radioactive waste materials are known to have been consolidated (the burial pits at Stepan, the former retention ponds on the Maywood Interim Storage Site and Ballod properties, and the interim storage pile at Maywood Interim Storage Site). The primary radioactive contaminants are thorium­232 and its decay products, with lesser amounts of the uranium­238 decay chain, including radium­226. The primary chemical contaminants are metals and rare earth elements that are found as natural components of monazite sands and may have been extracted along with thorium.

Modification of the land surface, including damming of creeks and berming to create retention ponds for thorium processing waste, resulted in contamination of soils on essentially all of the former Maywood Chemical Works property. Thorium-232 and radium­226 were detected in soil in the northeastern corner of the Ballod property in 1980; subsequent surveys confirmed the presence of thorium­232 in soil and indicated that the contamination extended from the Stepan and Ballod properties onto adjacent residential properties to the north and south. Radioactive contamination was detected in both surface and subsurface soils at the Stepan property. The largest area of surface contamination at Stepan was the northeastern portion of the property adjacent to the former location of the thorium processing building and near the guard shack, a warehouse building, and a small office and laboratory building. Grass or asphalt covers the contamination and reduces the mobility of contaminants in air or surface water runoff. Radioactive contamination in subsurface soil at Stepan was found primarily in the three burial pits where thorium residues and tailings excavated from the Ballod property were buried during the 1960s, but also in areas of the property used for thorium processing operations, areas near these locations, and low-lying areas where residues may have been placed as fill material. Although seven buildings at Stepan had residual radioactivity above guidelines on structural surfaces, the contamination was nonremovable and not readily transferrable to other areas. Building 76 and a pumphouse are the only buildings at the Maywood Interim Storage Site; building surveys determined that contaminants were beneath rather than within the buildings.

Elevated concentrations of rare earth elements and metals known to be components of monazite sands were found in soil at Stepan and the Maywood Interim Storage Site in association with the radioactive contamination. Metals were detected in soil at the Maywood Interim Storage Site to a maximum depth of 5.3 meters (17.5 feet). Metals detected most frequently at levels above background were arsenic, barium, chromium, copper, lead, lithium, and selenium. They extended from an area east of Building 76 to an area west of the storage pile, with a second smaller area south of the pile. The rare earth elements detected with greatest frequency and at highest concentrations were cerium, lanthanum, and neodymium, which were detected in fill and native soil to a maximum depth of 6.6 meters (21.5 feet). Concentrations generally decreased with depth, indicating only slight downward migration. Higher concentrations at depth, indicating the presence of buried material, were found in areas near Building 76, near the storage pile, and bordering State Route 17.

At the residential and commercial/governmental vicinity properties, radioactive contamination was detected in both surface and subsurface soils to maximum depths ranging from 15 centimeters (6 inches) to 3 meters (9 feet). Contamination found on these properties was present primarily as the result of sediment transport via the original channel of Lodi Brook, which has since been realigned. Higher thorium­232 concentrations were found in the former locations of the original brook channel than in the floodplain of the brook. Migration to vicinity properties also occurred through use of contaminated materials as fill on the properties, mechanical disturbance of soils during street and utility improvements, and migration of contaminants from adjacent properties during periods of heavy rainfall and flooding. As at Stepan and the Maywood Interim Storage Site, the primary chemical contaminants identified at vicinity properties were metals and rare earths that are constituents of monazite sands.

A vigorous environmental surveillance program has been in place at the Maywood Interim Storage Site since 1984. Air, ground water, and soil are monitored and periodically sampled to detect any above­background radioactive contamination associated with the site. An annual report compiles and interprets the previous year's monitoring and sampling data. During activities such as pile removal or residential excavations, additional monitoring is conducted to ensure that contaminants are not spread as a result of the work. During routine environmental monitoring, thorium­232, uranium­238, and radium­226 concentrations in ground water have been comparable at upgradient, offsite, and downgradient wells, indicating that radioactive contamination has not migrated into the bedrock aquifer. Results for surface water and sediment similarly were comparable at upstream and downstream locations.

REMEDIAL ACTION

Twenty-five residential properties and one undeveloped lot were cleaned up in the mid­1980s. Approximately 27,000 cubic meters (35,000 cubic yards) of soil containing low levels of radioactive contamination was excavated during the cleanups and created the storage pile at the Department of Energy-owned interim storage site in Maywood. Pollution control measures at the storage pile include a berm that was constructed around the entire area and a leachate collection system. Air monitoring stations and ground-water monitoring wells further help to ensure that no contamination from the storage pile can migrate offsite. Synthetic coverings that are sealed around the edges contain material within the pile; concrete blocks further secure the covers.

The Department of Energy is addressing the cleanup at the Maywood site in two phases: Phase 1, which addresses residential, municipal, and state-owned properties, and Phase 2, which addresses commercial, industrial, and governmental properties. The Department has characterized all of these properties for nature and extent of contamination. The estimated site total waste volume for Maywood is 302,000 cubic meters (395,000 cubic yards) of low-level waste.

Phase 1 cleanup of residential, municipal, and state-owned properties resumed in the fall of 1995. Thirty­one residential properties, 29 of which are in Lodi, still must be remediated. Three municipal parks, a fire station, an undeveloped piece of property, and an interstate right-of-way are also included in the properties to be cleaned up in Phase 1. The soil from the storage pile and the soil that will be generated during Phase 1 cleanups are being shipped by rail car out of state for permanent disposal. In the fall of 1994, the Department of Energy began transporting the pile soils to Envirocare of Utah. The Department expects pile removal to be completed by the end of 1996.

Phase 2 of the Maywood site cleanup will focus on commercial, industrial, and government properties, where most of the estimated 302,000 cubic meters (395,000 cubic yards) of contaminated soil is located. At present, the Department has not determined the cleanup method and disposal site for the soils on the commercial properties. Treatment of these soils to reduce the volume that will require disposal is still an option.

The scenario used for the Baseline Environmental Management Report cost estimate assumes phased excavation, treatment, and disposal at an existing commercial disposal facility. Phase 1 includes removal of the pile at the interim storage site; complete excavation of the residential properties; excavation of the unremediated portion of the Ballod property; excavation of the three municipal parks, an interstate right­of­way, and one fire station; continuation of institutional controls; and continued Department of Energy presence at the interim storage site. Additional Phase 1 actions would include continued pursuit of advanced treatment technologies and cost­effective disposal options for remaining contaminated soils. Phase 2 would address the remaining accessible contamination, including former retention ponds and waste burial areas at the interim storage site and the Stepan property (whether accessible or not), with the exception of soils beneath State Route 17. The cost estimate also includes decontamination and demolition of Building 76 at the interim storage site. At the completion of Phase 2, the Department of Energy will release the site.

FUNDING ESTIMATE

The following table presents estimated funding information for the Maywood site.