Zonolite Company/W.R. Grace, 35 Industrial Drive, Hamilton Township, Trenton, New Jersey
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EPA
Region		 Location of facility Type of facility Amount
of ore
received
(in tons)		 Did
EPA
visit
the
site?		 Were
samples
taken?		 Results of
evaluation
2 35 Industrial Drive, Hamilton Township, Trenton, New Jersey Former exfoliation facility 204,821 Yes-February 24, 2000 Yes According to an EPA database compiled from W.R. Grace shipping invoices, 204,821 tons of Libby ore were shipped to this site between 1966 and 1988. The Zonolite Company leased this approximately 8-acre tract from 1948 to 1963 from Penn Central Transportation Corporation. From 1963 until 1994, W.R. Grace operated at the site, which was located in a predominantly industrialized area. Both Zonolite and W.R. Grace used the site to make vermiculite-based products such as structural fireproofing, thermal insulation for masonry products, lightweight concrete aggregates, and horticultural vermiculite. After W.R. Grace closed its operations at the site in 1994, the site was vacant until a portion of it was purchased by MLB Properties, LLC and then leased to a company that recycles paper and cardboard. The recycling company stopped operations at the site on April 19, 2005, when a fire destroyed the building that housed its operations. On the basis of the information collected during the site investigation, it was determined that the raw vermiculite ore processed at this site was predominately obtained from the Libby, Montana mine. On October 5, 2000, EPA collected 24 soil samples, which contained asbestos levels ranging between 1.4 - 1.7 percent on the surface and 2.7 - 4.3 percent at 2 feet below the surface. The samples were analyzed using polarized light microscopy (PLM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In addition, more than 220 soil samples were collected in August 2001. Sampling results disclosed concentrations of asbestos as high as 40 percent in the surface soils. These samples were also analyzed using PLM and TEM. On the basis of this information, EPA determined the site needed to be remediated. An action to remove contamination from the site was initiated by the responsible parties on November 2003 and was completed in April 2004. The action (called Phase I of the cleanup at this site) included removing contaminated soil containing 1 percent or more asbestos; off-site disposal of approximately 9,200 tons of contaminated soil; and backfilling the site with 2 feet of clean soil. In April 2006, EPA collected 210 soil samples from 22 public recreation areas and 22 residential properties within a 2-mile radius of the facility. All of the samples were first analyzed by PLM and then 10 percent of the samples were randomly selected and analyzed by TEM. All the PLM sampling results were reported as non-detect for asbestos and all TEM results contained less than 1 percent asbestos. On the basis of these results, EPA decided no further action was required for these recreational and residential properties. In August 2006, a second removal action (Phase II), led by a responsible party, was initiated to remove and dispose of asbestos-contaminated soil from a railroad yard adjacent to the site. Field work for the Phase II removal action was completed by the responsible parties in September 2007. EPA’s letter closing out the removal action stipulated that, for a period of a full year from the time final restoration activities were complete, periodic monitoring and inspection activities would need to be conducted to ensure compliance with the Phase II work plan requirements, such as those requirements related to the re-vegetation and stabilization of the site. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s health consultation report for this site can be found at ATSDR.

GAO-09-6R