SEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
National Priorities List (NPL)
* * *Proposed Site * * *
RIVERSIDE INDUSTRIAL PARK
OSWER/OSRTI
Washington, DC 20460
September 2012
Newark, New Jersey
Essex County
(?) Site Location:
Riverside Industrial Park is located in an industrial park at 29 Riverside Avenue in Newark, Essex County, New
Jersey. The property is bordered by Riverside Avenue and residences to the west, and the Passaic River to the east.
a. Site History:
In October 2009, the EPA responded to a National Response Center call about a reported oil spill into the Passaic
River. The effluent was observed coming from a pipe on the property and the source was later traced to two basement
storage tanks in a vacant building on the property. Sampling of the contents of the tanks indicated the presence of
benzene, mercury, chromium, arsenic and 2,4-dimethylphenol at elevated concentrations. Approximately one hundred
3,000- to 10,000-gallon vessels containing unknown material and ten 12,000-gallon underground storage tanks were
also found on the property. It was later learned that in 2009, shortly before the release occurred, samples had been
collected from ground water, soil, basement water and the underground storage tanks at Riverside Industrial Park.
Those samples indicated the presence of metals, VOCs, SVOCs and PCBs at elevated concentrations. The property
was occupied by a paint manufacturing facility in the early to mid-1900s. Later, the property was the location of
various chemical packaging companies. Currently some buildings are occupied by various companies of unknown
type, and some buildings are vacant.
I Site Contamination/Contaminants:
Soil, ground water and underground tanks at Riverside Industrial Park are contaminated with mercury, chromium,
PCBs and VOCs. Those contaminants are used in a variety of industrial processes.
-------