CRANBURY — Township officials have finished testing soil samples taken from an arsenic-contaminated stream corridor in Cranbury-Millstone Park.
   But the township will have to wait until it meets with the state Department of Environmental Protection before deciding how to clean the contamination.
   Township Engineer Cathleen Marcelli said the township will review the data and meet with DEP officials to discuss remediation options.
   No meeting date has been set.
   Mayor Michael Mayes said the township is proceeding in a very deliberate fashion and wants to find a solution that is sustainable and may help to prevent contamination from recurring in the future.
   Officials believe the contamination is likely due to remnants of pesticides used in the 1970s, when arsenic-based pesticides were an approved and legal substance used by farmers across the nation. These substances are no longer used. Officials believe the soil containing those pesticides eroded over time and washed into the stream corridor.
   Mayor Mayes said if it happened once, it could conceivably happen again.
   "I want to be careful not to have the township expend a lot of money only to have the situation reoccur," he said. "I also don't want to spend an enormous amount of money trying to solve a significant problem, of which we're only a small part."
   Mayor Mayes said the township has some time available for deliberation because the contamination is a "surface phenomenon" and poses no immediate dangers or threats to the public.
   Officials hope to clean up the area by fall.
   Arsenic was found in the park in March, after the presence of 23 empty, abandoned barrels were found there. The barrels were removed in March and testing has been ongoing.
   To date, 81 locations have been tested at varying depths. All of them came back clean.
   No other volatile organics, pesticides or PCBs were detected.
   The soil samples gathered indicate levels of arsenic between 2 and 50 parts per million. The DEP requires all soil samples with arsenic levels higher than 20 parts per million to be cleaned up. The sample locations were selected in conformance with DEP criteria.
   Officials will use that information to draft a detailed map of the horizontal and vertical extent of contamination and to determine the most effective approach for the cleanup.
   There are four methods the township could use to clean the contamination: blend deeper, less contaminated soil with the top layer of dirt; blend the contaminated soil with noncontaminated soil from other portions of the property; seal off the contaminated area from the public or remove and dispose of the contaminated soil. The fourth would be the most expensive option ranging in cost between $32,000 to $80,000. There are about 3 acres of soil are in the park.
   Officials said contamination is limited to the stream corridor and does not threaten the town's drinking water.
   The area that is known or presumed to be contaminated is sealed off by a snow fence.
   Arsenic has been identified as toxic and a danger to drinking water if the levels are high enough. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, run by the U.S. Department of Interior, arsenic is a health concern because it can contribute to skin, bladder and other cancers.
   Arsenic is a naturally occurring element in the environment. Arsenic in groundwater is largely the result of minerals dissolving naturally from weathered rocks and soils, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Levels of arsenic lower than 20 parts per million in soil are deemed acceptable and naturally occurring.

For more stories from The Cranbury Press, go to www.cranburypress.com.

Back to News