Published in the Ocean County Observer
By MATT PORIO
Staff Writer
TOMS RIVER -- Around the bend on the cracked, paved road at the Ciba-Geigy Specialty Corp. property -- where a few ugly remains of a once mighty chemical-industrial infrastructure are scattered in the muddy center of more than a thousand acres of woodlands -- the bus and accompanying cars stopped near a ledge.
Down below, in a giant pit, with the help of machinery that does the heavy lifting, workers labored to remove the approximately 7,000 drums of waste that remain in a landfill, a federal Superfund site the Environmental Protection Agency is overseeing.
The scene was viewed in yesterday's drizzle by more than 40 members of the public who took a tour of the site offered by EPA and Ciba-Geigy officials, who have reported that 35,000 drums -- each one given a tracking number -- have been removed since December 2003.
"It was an excellent opportunity for the public to learn and see first-hand what's going on here," Dover Township Environmental Commission Chairwoman Janet Larson said, "so they don't have to rely on rumors."
This was the purpose of the event, said Romona Pezzella, the EPA project manager for the Ciba-Geigy site.
"We want people to feel comfortable with what we're doing here," she said.
Besides the drum excavation, those on the tour got to see parts of the soil-treatment process.
Excavation of contaminated soils began from four areas on the site in July.
The soil is taken to a new 100-foot by 344-foot soil storage building and then prepared for treatment at the Pile Preparation Building, where tourgoers lined up at windows to peer inside at rows of soil in the 138-foot-long building.
In the Pile Preparation Building, 200-cubic-yard batches of soil from different source areas are combined with a bulking agent, such as wood chips or straw, according to the EPA.
After several weeks, the piles are moved to the Primary Treatment building for another four to six weeks of treatment.
The most action on the tour was at the soil's next step, a secondary treatment pad, where a giant, $500,000 tractor-like machine straddled the pile, churning the soil with its rotating coils.
Once the soil is completely treated, it is put back in the ground, Ciba-Geigy Director of Public Affaris Donna Jakubowski said.
Officials also reviewed some of the basic safety precautions at the site, such as air monitoring systems set up at work sites and at various perimeters.
The air around the site is constantly being monitored, said Fred Geltz, health and safety officer for Sevansor, which was contracted to do the work at the site.
So far, said Jakubowski, nothing site-related has ever set off one of the air-safety monitors.
While Jakubowski said this week that drum excavation will likely be finished some time close to the new year, there is another site with approximately 35,000 more drums.
Dover Township has sued to force Ciba-Geigy to force them to remove those drums, which they say are in a secure, lined landfill that has shown no sign of leaking. Dover Township officials, however, have said they have proof the lining is leaking.
Township officials have been negotiating with state officials to try to get them to force Ciba-Geigy to remove the contested drums.
Mayor Paul C. Brush said this week he is optimistic about the outcome of the negotiations, but was not at liberty to discuss any specifics.
Published in the Ocean County Observer 9/16/04
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