United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance
(2201)
EPA 520-F-95-007
Summer 1995
xvEPA Super-fund At Work
Hazardous Waste Cleanup Efforts Nationwide
Helen Kramer Landfill
Site Profile
The leachate pretreatment facility's main building shown here
under construction on a clear day in October, 1990.
Success in Brief
Largest Site in New Jersey
Completed
The Helen Kramer Landfill in Mantua Township was once
considered one of the nation's worst hazardous waste sites.
Several million gallons of chemical refuse including oils, paints,
and solvents were buried there, along with municipal, septic,
and hospital wastes. Fifty feet thick in most areas, the wastes
were dumped indiscriminately into an old sand and gravel pit.
Rain and melted snow caused heavy metals and chemical
residues to leach into the underlying aquifer. Fortunately, local
residents were on public water supplies, but the effects of environ-
mental degradation included 11 acres of stressed vegetation that
bore testiment to the area's inability to sustain wildlife.
Following a huge construction effort lead by the U.S. Environ-
mental Protection Agency (EPA), New Jersey officials assumed
responsibility for 30 years of monitoring and maintenance in May,
1994. Both EPA and the state are suing to recover more than $100
million in cleanup costs from
potentially responsible parties, a
list that reads like the Fortune 500.
The Site Today
EPA completed construction of
an 81.5-acre containment cap in
November 1992, a massive project
that required two million tons of
soil and clay. An active gas collec-
tion and treatment system burns
excess methane on a continuous
flare. A treatment plant for
leachate and ground water re-
mains operational, filtering 120
gallons per minute. State officials
are operating both systems as part
of the overall monitoring effort.
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Superfund At Work Helen Kramer Landfill Site, Mantua, NJ
Summer 1995
The Helen Kramer Land-
fill site is located in
Gloucester County, five
miles south of Woodbury,
New Jersey. The original
landfill of 66 acres bears the
name of Helen Kramer, a
widow in her 90s who still
lives at the site boundary. In
1963, Mrs. Kramer appar-
ently converted a sand and
gravel operation into a more
lucrative landfill for indus-
trial wastes, some allegedly
transported from Philadel-
phia by organized crime.
Over the ensuing years,
municipal, septic, and hospi-
tal wastes added to the
growing mix of oils, sludges,
solvents, pesticides, plastics,
A Site Snapshot
and paints. By 1981, the landfill
burgeoned with several million
gallons of spent chemicals and
more than two million cubic
yards of rubbish. Three on-site
lagoons harbored an ominous
blend of liquid and sedi-
ments thoroughly satu-
rated with heavy
metals.
The sand pit had
no liner as do mod-
ern, permitted haz-
ardous waste disposal
facilities today; indeed
few barrels and
drums
were used.
Through
seasonal
precipita-
Helen Kramer
Landfill Site
Mantua, NJ
tion, toxic substances seeped
into an underlying aquifer
and contaminated Edwards
Run, a tributary of Mantua
Creek that leads to the Dela-
ware River. The ground
water was at a depth that
prevented significant
deterioration.
Approximately 1,500
people live within one
mile of the site and
10,000 live within three
miles. The landfill
presented a fire and
explosion hazard
because of the buildup
of methane gas, and
airborne contaminants
could be measured from
miles away.
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Superfund At Work Helen Kramer Landfill Site, Mantua, NJ Summer 1995
County, State, and Federal Agencies Cooperate on
Massive Project
Industrial Chemicals Poison
the Land
If you had ventured onto the
site in the late-70s, a feeling of
impending disaster would have
been hard to ignore. Cracks in
a north-south ridge vented
methane and steam. A row of
trees and brush along the west-
ern boundary clung to life, a
futile attempt to arrest the gas
migration. All other vegetation
was dead or dying. Iron stain-
ing, a dark brown, foamy sub-
stance, bubbled up and discol-
ored the soil. Leachate seeping
into gullies and streams
drained into wetland areas on
the site, killing aquatic species.
The south ravine contained a
few crushed and buried drums
interspersed with randomly
strewn, uncompacted, and
uncovered waste of all descrip-
tions. A pervasive stench filled
the air as trucks lumbered in,
dumping their hazardous cargo.
An underground fire
burned for more thar;
two months,
emitting noxious fumes
and soot
During approximately 17 years
of operation, polluters depos-
ited millions of cubic yards of
chemical and solid waste.
Although authorities sus-
pected illegal dumping, the
magnitude of the site prevented
accurate monitoring of all
activities. Environmental offi-
cials faced increasing pressures
as factories across the state
manufactured the wonder
chemicals of modern society.
CERCLA Becomes Law
This landfill was one of tens
of thousands of industrial waste
sites nationwide that fueled
public outrage. In response,
Congress enacted the Compre-
hensive Environmental Re-
sponse, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA).
The law established a federal
program to solve the complex
problems associated with im-
proper hazardous waste dis-
posal. Instead of using taxpayer
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Superfund At Work Helen Kramer Landfill Site, Mantua, NJ Summer 1995
dollars, EPA taps a "Super-
fund" derived from excise taxes
on chemical feedstocks and
crude oil.
Local officials were unsuc-
cessful in closing the landfill
until March, 1981 when a
county court finally heeded
Community Organizers Get
Involved
At every Superfund site, EPA
invites public participation in
the selection of remedy. Town
meetings and comment periods
present opportunities to express
local preferences. With help
warnings of excess capacity and from the community, EPA
elevation. That summer, an
underground fire erupted and
burned for more than two
months, emitting noxious fumes
and soot.
Investigations Reveal
Extensive Pollutants
When State officials asked for
assistance, a Superfund team
conducted preliminary sam-
pling of air, soil, and
ground water, finding
dangerous levels of vola-
tile organic compounds
(VOCs) and heavy metals
including lead, arsenic,
and cadmium. The fol-
lowing July, EPA pro-
posed to add the site to the
National Priorities List
(NPL) of sites requiring
comprehensive cleanup.
For two years, EPA
conducted exhaustive
field studies to character-
ize the contamination at
the site. By 1985, labora-
tory analyses revealed
enormous quantities of
toxic chemicals in the
landfill. The sheer vol-
ume and mixture of mate-
rials prevented separate
treatment technologies.
reached a decision to construct
a multi-layer containment cap
as a permanent solution to seal
off the landfill and halt the
migration of contaminants. In
1990, an area group, "NO
DICE" (no dumps in clean
environments), successfully
acquired a Technical Assistance
Grant worth $50,000 enabling a
technical advisor to teach area
residents about the construction
process.
Largest Backhoe in the World
Two years went into design-
ing the complex, six-layer cap
built with two million tons of
soil and clay. EPA asked the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
to oversee a specialty contractor
who brought in the Koehring
1266, an enormous piece of
earth-moving equipment that
could dig 70 feet deep. Con-
struction crews built two roller-
compacted concrete retaining
walls to provide the slope
stability needed to construct the
cap and a slurry wall which
surrounds the entire site.
A roller-compacted concrete retaining wall was needed to provide slope stability
before construction of the containment cap.
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Superfund At Work Helen Kramer Landfill Site, Mantua, NJ Summer 1995
Agencies Cooperate on Massive Project
Raw, untreated leachate being mixed in the pretreatment facility's 350,000-
gallon equalization/storage tank.
Sediments from three on-site
lagoons were transferred to the
landfill before capping and then
backfilled with 34,000 tons of
clean soil. In addition, crews
built three pumping stations
and a collection trench to inter-
cept the flow of leachate into
Edwards Run. Operating at a
volume of 120 gallons per
minute, a pretreatment facility
uses chemical precipitation, air
stripping, and carbon adsorp-
tion to treat leachate and ground
water from the aquifer. Under
an agreement with the
Gloucester County Utilities
Authority, pretreated ground
water enters the publicly owned
treatment plant for final
disposal.
Unvented Gases Build
Pressure
Because of the mixed compo-
sition of the buried contami-
nants, methane gas is released
as a by-product. To stave off
the potential for explosion and
to prevent the cap from crack-
ing, workers built an active
gas collection and treatment
system.
More than 17,500 feet of
piping capture migrating
gases from vertical vents. A
blower draws the gases into a
carbon filter to remove VOCs
and the remaining methane is
flared. Safety engineers moni-
tor gas levels twice daily; air
quality is measured at a
nearby school and baseball
field.
All construction activities
were completed in June, 1993.
A year later in May 1994, EPA
made one of the largest federal
transfers, and the first in the
state, for long-term operation
and maintenance. The gas and
leachate collection systems and
their associated treatment
plants remain operational today
under the care of the New
Jersey Department of Environ-
mental Protection.
42-Foot Methane Flare
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Superfund At Work Helen Kramer Landfill Site, Mantua, NJ Summer 1995
Recovering Cleanup Costs
From Waste Contributors
EPA identified 26 major
waste contributors, including
the owner, operators, and
transporters, who refused to
cooperate in building the con-
tainment cap or any other
remedial systems. In a civil
action filed by the Department
of Justice, EPA is suing the
parties to recover construction
and other costs. Those parties
have identified approximately
200 other companies and
groups who they believe gener-
ated or transported hazardous
wastes to the landfill. The State
of New Jersey has filed a sepa-
rate action to recover past costs
and those associated with 30
years of future environmental
monitoring.
Success at
Helen Kramer
In less than six years, dedicated teams of environmental
protection specialists effectively entombed a toxic landfill
of enormous magnitude. Two active collection and treat-
ment plants remain operational for contaminated ground
water and methane gas. Open communication with area
residents fostered public confidence and raised environ-
mental awareness. Hard work and determination made
this site a model of federal and state cooperation.
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