The site
is the location of the Former Roth Cleaners. The site operated from the 1940s
through 2005. In the early 1990s, Mr. Roth hired a contractor to remove two
underground storage tanks from the rear of the building. The tanks contained
fuel oil and Stoddard solvent. Post-excavation soil samples indicated
concentrations of tetrachloroethylene (PCE) above NJDEP standards. NJDEP
required Roth to investigate the PCE contamination and a cesspool was
discovered adjacent to the USTs. The cesspool sludge contained PCE at 90,000
parts per million. The impacted soil was removed and groundwater (GW)
monitoring wells were installed. GW results indicated concentrations of PCE
above NJDEP standards.
A series of monitoring wells were installed surrounding the Roth
building and a groundwater investigation indicated concentrations of chlorinated
compounds above the NJDEP standards.
Roth
was ordered by NJDEP to conduct indoor air and sub-slab soil gas sampling at
the Roth building and surrounding buildings. Roth hired a NJ Licensed Site
Remediation Professional (LSRP) to conduct the investigation. PCE was
identified in indoor air in an adjacent building which housed two daycare
centers. A sub-slab depressurization system (SSDS) was installed in that
building. Sample results indicated exceedances of NJDEP standards in the
adjacent theater building and video game store as well. A soil vapor extraction
(SVE) system was installed in the Roth building.
There
are no existing NJDEP records between 2010 and 2015. It is believed that the
SVE system operated and removed a large amount of contamination from the
subsurface. There is no information concerning the SSDS installed in the
building housing the two daycare centers.
Letters
from 2014 from a new LSRP to property owners, indicated concentrations of chlorinated
compounds were below NJDEP standards except in the theater building. The LSRP
speculated the concentrations detected were due to dry cleaning of costumes.
In
2016, Mr. Roth passed away. Subsequently, the newly hired LSRP also passed away.
After that, the Site was not looked at again until February 2021 by the NJDEP
Immediate Concern Unit (ICU). The ICU conducted a site walk and observed four
unknown 55-gallon drums, a 5-gallon container with crystalized material coming
out of it, unknown liquids in buckets, potential asbestos floor tiles and the
intact drycleaning equipment. NJDEP also observed that the building was in poor
condition with several small holes in the roof and rain water on the ground within
the building.
In
March 2021, NJDEP referred the Site to EPA. EPA conducted a site walk with
NJDEP and observed the same materials as NJDEP in addition to several mercury
containing switches and possible PCB-containing fluorescent light ballasts.
In
November 2022, after contacting the family of Mr. Roth and gaining access, EPA conducted
hazard categorization (hazcat) of the materials observed. EPA identified the
fluids within the drycleaning equipment as being flammable, the crystalized
material as being an oxidizer, and the liquid within the 55-gallon drums as being
a Ph of 6.5 to 7. EPA collected samples from the potential asbestos containing
floor tiles. During the investigation, EPA also collected indoor air and
sub-slab soil gas samples from the Roth building, the theater and the video
game store. However, due to issues with the summa can regulators, the sample
results were rejected.
In
March 2022, EPA re-collected the indoor air and sub-slab soil gas samples from the
Roth building, the theater and the video game store, as well as the building
that housed the two daycare centers previously. That building now only housed
one daycare center. During this investigation, EPA observed approximately 15
linear feet of asbestos pipe wrap insulation on piping associated with the
drycleaning equipment. Due to the daycare spraying alcohol around the rooms to
combat Covid-19, the results for the daycare were rejected.
In May
2022, EPA collected a new round of indoor air samples from the building with
the daycare. No alcohol was sprayed during this sampling event.
Analytical results
from the March and May 2022 indoor air and sub-slab soil gas sampling events at
the Property building, video game store, theater/teen center building and the
building with the daycare indicated that all compounds related to dry-cleaning
activities, namely trichloroethylene (TCE), PCE, and their degradation
compounds (i.e., vinyl chloride, dichloroethene, etc.), were detected but did
not exceed the EPA Removal Management Levels (RMLs).
In September 2022
EPA and the ERRS contractor arranged for the abatement of the asbestos pipe wrap
insulation. ERRS hired a licensed abatement contractor and the material was
removed and properly disposed.
In October 2022,
EPA and ERRS removed liquids from the drycleaning equipment and placed into
drums, bulked the clear liquid from the existing drums, utilized the existing
hazcat information to bulk other materials together, placed the crystalized
material, mercury switches and other debris into drums for disposal. Disposal
samples were collected from all materials and sent to a lab for analysis.
In February 2023,
EPA and ERRS arranged for disposal of all hazardous materials from the Site. A
total of 15 drums ranging in size from 30 to 55-gallons, both steel and
plastic, as well as three cubic yard boxes containing cut pipes and containers
were shipped off site for disposal. All work was completed at the site on
February 21, 2023.
