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The Middlesex Sampling Plant on Mountain Avenue in Middlesex, New Jersey, is a 9.6 acres (38,800 m2) site which was initially used to stockpile pitchblende uranium ore. From 1943 to 1955, under the direction of the Manhattan Project and its successor agency, the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), it was used to crush, dry, screen, weigh, assay, store, package, and ship uranium ore, along with thorium and beryllium ores, for the development of the atomic bomb.
| Middlesex Sampling Plant | |
|---|---|
| Superfund site | |
 Middlesex Sampling Plant, 1968 | |
| Geography | |
| Town | Borough of Middlesex |
| County | Middlesex |
| State | New Jersey |
  Middlesex Sampling Plant Location of the site in Middlesex County  Middlesex Sampling Plant Middlesex Sampling Plant (New Jersey) | |
| Information | |
| CERCLIS ID | NJ0890090012 |
| Contaminants | Radioactive waste including uranium, thorium, and beryllium |
| Responsible parties | US Department of Energy United States military |
| Progress | |
| Proposed | September 29, 1998 |
| Listed | January 19, 1999 |
| List of Superfund sites | |
Contamination
editIt was later discovered that radioactive waste had been disposed of a half mile away at the Middlesex Municipal Landfill.[1] The site was used from 1955 to 1967 for the sampling and storage of thorium residues, and was decontaminated, certified, and released for unrestricted use in 1967.[2] During the decontamination process, radioactive materials were carried away by wind and rain to the yards of nearby residents.[3]
The facility was used by the United States Marine Corps as a reserve training center from 1969 until 1979, when the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) took over and cleaned up the residential properties. Excavated soil was stored at the site in a specially constructed pile, known as the Vicinity Properties (VP) pile. The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) disposed of 33,000 cubic yards (25,000 m3) of contaminated soil from the Middlesex Municipal Landfill pile in 1998 and 35,000 cubic yards (27,000 m3) from the VP pile in 1999.
As of 2007, the USACE continues to do ground water testing and has proposed a remedial action plan with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Closure of the site is pending, and long-term surveillance and maintenance requirements will be determined once final site conditions are known.[4]
Future use
editIn April 2024, the site was officially transferred to the Borough to build its public works facility and a warehouse with an adjoining road.[5][6]
References
edit- ^ "Middlesex Municipal Landfill". www.nan.usace.army.mil. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ^ "Geologic report, Middlesex Municipal Landfill site, Middlesex, New Jersey". Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). University of North Texas: United States Department of Energy: 1. 1 March 1984. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ^ "FACT SHEET - Middlesex Sampling Plant, NJ". New York District Website. US Army Corps of Engineers. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ^ "Middlesex Sampling Plant, New Jersey Site". United States Department of Energy, Office of Legacy Management. Archived from the original on 2009-06-25. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
- ^ Baldwin, Carly (11 October 2023). "Middlesex Boro Superfund Site Will Become Public Works Facility". Middlesex, NJ Patch. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
- ^ "Borough Site Chosen for EPA Reuse Award; Ceremony Held Oct. 11". Middlesex Borough. 11 October 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
External links
edit- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. NJ-107, "Middlesex Sampling Plant"
- HAER No. NJ-107-A, "Middlesex Sampling Plant, Process Building"
- HAER No. NJ-107-B, "Middlesex Sampling Plant, Boiler House"
- HAER No. NJ-107-C, "Middlesex Sampling Plant, Administration Building"
- HAER No. NJ-107-D, "Middlesex Sampling Plant, Garage"