Imperial Oil Company/Champion Chemicals

Morganville, New Jersey

Site Description

The 15-acre Imperial Oil Co./Champion Chemicals site consists of six
production, storage, and maintenance buildings and 56 above-ground storage
tanks. Imperial Oil Co. blends oil on the site, which is leased from Champion
Chemicals. Several companies have operated at the site in the past. One, which
reprocessed waste oil, may have discharged wastes to a nearby stream;
another company produced arsenical pesticides. The site formerly contained a
waste pile contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The process
area is surrounded by a fence. Surrounding the site are many areas that could
be critically affected by the contaminants in the soil and water, including
wetlands, wooded areas, streams, ponds and lakes. The soil at the site is
contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), PCBs, metals, polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), petroleum hydrocarbons, and phthalates, a
plastics by-product. Off-site sediments were contaminated with arsenic, lead,
phthalates, and PCBs. The surface soil is contaminated with heavy metals
including chromium, lead, and arsenic, and PCBs. Surface water contained
arsenic.

Current Site Status and Cleanup Actions to Date

•	In 1991, EPA excavated (2pp, 530K) and disposed of approximately
660 cubic yards of PCB-contaminated material from a waste filter clay
pile located on-site. The contaminated soil beneath the former pile is
covered with an impermeable material to prevent the infiltration of water
and to prevent human contact.

•	EPA installed extraction wells and an oil/water treatment system to
remove the floating oil layer from the ground water. The New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is currently using
these wells to continue the removal of floating oil. To date, NJDEP has
removed over 20,000 gallons of PCB-contaminated oil.

•	In 1998, EPA excavated and disposed of 6,488 cubic yards of
contaminated soil (roughly equivalent to 1 football field, covered 1 yard
deep) from four nearby residences.

•	NJDEP completed a study determining the full nature and extent of the
contamination. The cleanup plan calls for the excavation and off-site
disposal of contaminated soil and removal and off-site incineration (2pp,
521K) of floating product; dismantling buildings and tank farms needed
to complete the soil excavation; and restoring wetlands.

•	In 2004, NJDEP excavated and disposed of 14,889 cubic yards of
contaminated soil and sediment from the Birch Swamp Brook and
adjacent properties.

Current Funding Status

•	To date, EPA has obligated approximately $26.6 million to the site.

Key

Accomplishments

•	EPA excavated (2pp.
530K) and disposed of
approximately 660
cubic yards of PCB-
contaminated material
from a waste filter clay
pile located on-site.

•	To date, NJDEP has
removed over 20,000
gallons of PCB-
contaminated oil
through the ground
water extraction and
treatment system (2pp,
526K).

•	EPA excavated and
disposed of 6,488
cubic yards of
contaminated soil from
four nearby
residences.

•	In 2004, NJDEP
excavated and
disposed of 14,889
cubic yards of
contaminated soil and
sediment from the
Birch Swamp Brook
and adjacent
properties.

For more information on
the projects at this site,
please read the Imperial
Oil Company/Champion
Chemicals Fact Sheet
(3pp, 35.2K) on the Region
2 Superfund Web site.

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