FIVE-YEAR REVIEW REPORT RINGWOOD MINES/LANDFILL SUPERFUND SITE RINGWOOD, NEW JERSEY Prepared by: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region II New York, New York September 1998 ------- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region II Emergency and Remedial Response Division Five-Year Review (Type I) Ringwood Mines/Landfill Superfund Site Ringwood, New Jersey I. Introduction Authority Statement. Purpose. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region II conducted this five-year review pursuant to OSWER Directives 9355.7-02 (May 23, 1991), 9355.7-02A (1994) and 9355.7-03A (1995). This review is a policy review because the Record of Decision (ROD) called for no-action with long-term environmental monitoring. The site was deleted from the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1994. The purpose of a five-year review is to ensure that a remedial action remains protective of public health and the environment. This document will become part of the site's Administrative Record file. This review (Type I) is applicable to sites at which remedial action activities have been completed. Post-remedial environmental monitoring activities at the site have documented that the remedy continues to be protective of public health and the environment. Site Characteristics. Magnetite mines were operated on the 500 acre Ringwood Mines/Landfill Site (Site) as early as the 1700s and wastes have been disposed of at the Site since the 1960s. The Site is approximately ^ mile wide and 1 ^ miles long and consists of rugged forested areas, open areas overgrown with vegetation, abandoned mine shafts and surface pits, an inactive landfill, an industrial refuse disposal area, small surficial dumps, a municipal recycling center, the Ringwood Borough garage, and approximately 50 homes. The area around the Site is primarily residential; with these 50 residences located on or near disposal areas. Two abandoned mines on-site, Peter's Mine and Cannon Mine, have been filled with waste material over the years. Peter's Mine also allegedly contains paint sludges, solvents, and scrap metal. Several drums have been observed in Cannon Mine. Mining ended at the Site in the early 1900s and the history of the Site is unclear from then until the late 1930s. The Site was purchased by the U.S. Government prior to 1940 and later was sold to a succession of owners. From 1967 until 1974, Ringwood Realty, one of the former owners, deposited waste products for the Ford Motor Company, including car parts, solvents, and paint sludges, on the ground surface and allegedly in abandoned mine shafts. In ------- 2 1970, Ringwood Realty donated 290 acres in the southern portion of the Site to the Ringwood Solid Waste Management Authority, which began operating a permitted municipal disposal area in 1972 . In 1976, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) sampled surface water from the vicinity of the municipal landfill and determined that the surface water was contaminated by leachate emanating from the landfill. The landfill was closed in accordance with NJDEP regulations following this determination. In July 1982, NJDEP conducted a Site Inspection of the Ringwood Mines/Landfill Site. Based on groundwater sampling results taken from waters in the Peter's Mine shaft which contained moderate amounts of volatile organics, as well as heavy metal contamination found in Peter's Mine Brook, the Site was proposed to be added to the NPL. The Site was officially added to the NPL in 1983 following these investigations. From March 1984 through April 1988, Ford International Services, Inc. (FIS), performed a four-phase Remedial Investigation (RI) pursuant to a March 1984 Administrative Order issued by EPA. On June 26, 1987, EPA issued an Administrative Order to FIS for the performance of a Feasibility Study (FS). A second Administrative Order was also issued this day, which addressed paint sludge contamination at the Site. FIS was also required under the Administrative Order for the FS to conduct an endangerment assessment to evaluate any potential risk to public health and the environment posed by the Site. Following the characterization of the Site during the RI, EPA issued a ROD on September 29, 1988. II. Discussion of Remedial Objectives; Areas of Non-compliance Remedial Investigation and Risk Assessment Findings Based on the Remedial Investigation performed from 1984 through 1988, it was determined that groundwater beneath the Site discharges to surface streams and eventually the Wanaque Reservoir, which is located more than one mile southeast of the on-site sludge disposal area. Approximately 20 water supply wells draw from the bedrock aquifer in the immediate vicinity of the Site and are ------- 3 currently used to supply residences and industries in the area. New Jersey State law requires that all wells in the region withdraw water from below 50 feet (lower aquifer) . Approximately 13,000 people live in Ringwood Borough. The Wanaque Reservoir provides drinking water to approximately 650,000 people. A risk assessment was performed following the RI in 1988 by FIS as per the June 1987 unilateral order for the performance of the Feasibility Study. The assessment indicates that ingestion of arsenic present in groundwater from three sampling locations in the upper aquifer, lifetime ingestion of lead and thallium in two of the same locations in the upper aquifer, and lifetime ingestion of cadmium and lead from one sampling location in the lower aquifer would pose unacceptable health risks. Much of this contamination appeared sporadically in the sampling, and was not widespread throughout the Site. The risk assessment concluded that exposure to site soils and surface water does not present elevated risks to public health and the environment. Removal Activities Concurrent with RI work, solidified surficial paint sludge was discovered in several areas of the Site. This paint sludge was analyzed and determined to contain elevated levels of lead and arsenic. Paint sludge contamination was addressed through an Administrative Order with FIS prior to the completion of the RI and the issuance of the ROD. EPA issued this Administrative Order on June 26, 1987, requiring FIS to conduct a removal action which included the excavation and off-site disposal of this paint sludge. From October 1987 through February 1988, FIS's contractor removed approximately 7,000 cubic yards (cy) of paint sludge containing elevated lead and arsenic from the Peter's Mine area. Following this initial removal action performed by FIS, paint sludge was discovered at the Site in successive years. The Site encompasses an extremely large area (500 acres) and although FIS has conducted studies to discern areas of paint sludge (i.e., air photo analysis, test pitting, etc ... ), soil erosion and earthwork activities have continued to uncover remnant pockets of buried paint sludge. From January 1990 though July 1991, FIS removed approximately 727 tons of surfical paint sludge and 60 drums containing liquid wastes from the former O'Connor Disposal ------- 4 Area of the Site. During April 1995 through January 1996, FIS removed 5 cy of surficial paint sludge from a residential area located adjacent to the Cannon Mine area of the Site. In April 1997, additional surficial paint sludge was discovered by EPA in the former O'Connor Disposal Area of the Site. FIS conducted the removal of this sludge during December 1997 through May 1998. Approximately 30 cy of paint sludge and associated soil was removed. EPA is currently reviewing the results of the post-excavation soil sampling from the removal event. Record of Decision (Lona-Term-Environmental Monitoring Program) On September 29, 1988, EPA issued a ROD for the Site. The ROD called for performance of a long-term groundwater and surface water monitoring program. The components of the monitoring program are as follows: • Sampling and analyses of potable wells in the vicinity of the Site; • Performance of geophysical surveys in order to determine groundwater flow, and optimum placement of monitoring wells; • Performance of soil and rock geochemical surveys to determine background concentrations of metals; and • Sampling and analyses of new and existing groundwater monitoring wells, surface waters, and wetlands existing at the Site. The ROD also indicated that any potential additional soil contamination related to FIS's removal work during October 1987 through February 1988 should be removed in accordance with the June 26, 1987 Administrative Order for removal activities or resampled to determine if the soil met NJDEP Soil Cleanup Objectives. FIS completed additional post-excavation soil sampling activities in the areas of concern indicated by the ROD by December 1988. The soil in these areas met NJDEP Soil Cleanup Objectives. FIS completed the required geological assessments in March 1990. Long-Term Environmental Monitoring Program In accordance with the ROD and pursuant to an August 1989 Administrative Order on Consent, FIS conducted a five-year Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP) from 1990 through ------- 5 1995 to monitor potable wells and monitoring wells to evaluate contaminant concentrations in the groundwater of the upper aquifer and compare these levels to health-based levels. The monitoring network consisted of all known potentially affected drinking water wells (10 potable wells), monitoring wells (8 wells), and surface water tributaries to the Wanaque Reservoir. Surface water sampling was discontinued in 1990, when sampling and analysis showed no contamination above surface water criteria. FIS submitted the final EMP report in April 1996. Results of the report indicate that in the last round of sampling, all health-based levels (Maximum Contaminant Levels [MCLs]) were met except for elevated levels of lead found in some potable wells. Elevated lead found in the potable wells is believed to be from plumbing appurtences as these wells are located approximately 1.5 miles from the former areas of paint sludge. In addition, chlorofrom was detected at elevated levels in one potable well. The appearance of chloroform in this well was a singular event and is likely a byproduct related to the breakdown of the product "Chlorox" that was poured into this well by the homeowner (the homeowner reported this event to FIS) approximately two weeks prior to the sampling event. Residences located within the Site boundaries and near to areas of former paint sludge are connected to the public water supply. Elevated metals found in monitoring wells during the last two rounds of sampling include lead, arsenic, aluminum, iron, and manganese. The appearance of the metals aluminum, iron, and manganese is considered to be a natural occurrence at the Site because they are either related to the iron ore mining activities or are known to occur at elevated levels in the region. On November 4, 1997, EPA requested that FIS conduct a review of existing regional background groundwater quality to determine if the elevated levels of metals in the monitoring wells, particularly lead and arsenic, are related to contamination from the Site or are at levels indicative of natural background. FIS recently submitted preliminary documents regarding the background groundwater quality review and EPA is currently reviewing this information. EPA will determine if additional sampling is necessary by December 1998. ------- 6 IV. Statement on Protectiveness Based upon a review of the ROD, the semiannual long-term monitoring reports, and an inspection of the Site, it has been concluded that the remedy at the Ringwood Mines/Landfill Site was implemented in accordance with the remedy selected in the ROD and that the remedy set forth in the ROD is fully protective of human health and the environment. In addition, continued removal of areas of known paint sludge has eliminated a source of contamination. EPA conducted a site inspection on August 11, 1998 to inspect the removal area and Site monitoring wells. Monitoring wells are in good condition and the recent removal area is sound; with vegetation regrowth returning to pre-removal conditions. V. Next Five-Year Review Since hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants may remain at the Ringwood Mines/Landfill Site which do not allow for unlimited use or unrestricted exposure, EPA will conduct another five-year review on or before September 30, 2003. Richard L. Caspe, Director Emergency and Remedial Response Division ------- |