DESCRIPTION: The Maywood site is located in a highly developed area of northeastern New Jersey, in the boroughs of Maywood and Lodi and the township of Rochelle Park. It is located approximately 13 miles northeast of Newark, New Jersey. Contamination at the properties resulted from rare earths and thorium processing activities conducted at the Maywood Chemical Works (MCW) from the early 1900 through 1959. MCW stopped extracting thorium in 1959. The property was subsequently sold to the Stepan Company (Stepan), a pharmaceutical manufacturer, in 1959. The Maywood site is composed of the Maywood Interim Storage Site (MISS) and various nearby properties, including the Stepan property and numerous residential, commercial, and government properties in Maywood, Rochelle Park, and Lodi, New Jersey.
AUTHORIZATION/PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Responsibility for the Maywood site was assigned to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as a decontamination research and development project by the U.S. Congress through the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act of 1984. DOE placed the site in their Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). In October 1997, responsibility for executing FUSRAP was transferred from DOE to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) by further Congressional action.
The site is listed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the National Priorities List (NPL). All USACE activities at the site are being coordinated with EPA Region II under CERCLA, as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act, and a negotiated Federal Facilities Agreement (FFA). The FFA was originally developed by DOE and EPA to outline responsibilities for each agency.
Soils containing thorium, radium and uranium above site-specific cleanup levels (determined by risk analysis) are located on the site. Deposition of radionuclides was either by soil and sediment transport along the former Lodi Brook Channel, which crossed the MCW property; by emplacement of fill containing radionuclides; or by past waste disposal practices. Affected properties include 92 commercial, government- owned, and residential properties. The MISS, used for interim storage of excavated soils and demolition debris from early vicinity property removal actions, is located on a portion of the original MCW facility and is owned by the Federal government.
STATUS: USACE is continuing Remedial Action activities in accordance with the 2021 Explanation of Significant Difference to the Record of Decision (ROD) for Soil and Buildings, signed in September 2003, and the ROD for Groundwater, signed in July 2012. Excavation of accessible soils contamination on all properties has been completed and the ongoing work addresses previously inaccessible soils in the streets of Lodi and Maywood. The remaining soils work is expected to be completed by FY28. The groundwater remedy is currently being implemented and long-term groundwater monitoring is expected to begin in FY25. In support of the soils and groundwater remedial action, the project continues to have a robust community relations program and is tracking 15 properties that will require soils land use controls (LUC) and 1 area-wide groundwater LUC. These LUCs will require long term maintenance and potential future remediation if inaccessible soils are made accessible by a property owner.
CONTACT:
Kershu Tan, Project Manager
Phone: (201) 909-0023
Email: Kershu.Tan@usace.army.mil
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District
Programs and Project Management Division
26 Federal Plaza
New York, NY 10278