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Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Jersey Plating Company in Boonton, New Jersey

On this page:

  • Cleanup Status
  • Site Description
  • Contaminants at this Facility
  • Site Responsibility

Cleanup Status

Cleanup work is being conducted by the Town of Boonton, which is the owner of the property, under a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the NJDEP. The Town of Boonton and the former Jersey Plating Company property are eligible for financial assistance for assessment and investigation from the NJDEP Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund; and the Town of Boonton may also be eligible for additional funding for remediation through the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority.

Pursuant to the MOA, the Town of Boonton has completed a Preliminary Assessment, Site Investigation, and Remedial Investigation Phase I. Although some soil contamination has been remediated, the groundwater and soil remains contaminated. A Remedial Investigation Phase II is underway to further delineate the soil and groundwater contamination both on-site and off-site to assess the current impacts at the site that may require further investigation or remediation.
 


Site Description

The Jersey Plating Company occupies approximately one-quarter acre at 214 Birch Street, in Boonton, New Jersey. The facility is bordered by Birch and Union Streets, and surrounded by residential, commercial and light-industrial properties. The Rockaway River and Boonton Reservoir are located approximately 0.25 and 0.75 miles from the facility, respectively. The Jersey Plating Company was an electroplating facility where copper, silver, tin, zinc, rhodium, gold and nickel were plated onto aluminum for the electronics industry. The company also did aluminum and zinc coating and aluminum etching. All operations at the facility ended in June 1986.


Contaminants at this Facility

An eight-foot round by ten-foot deep cesspool was located approximately 20 feet east of the former process building. The cesspool was lined with cinder blocks, and had a concrete cover. This unit received wastewater from the plating, coating and etching processes from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. The wastes contained metals, cyanides, acids and halogenated solvents. Hazardous wastes were also stored and treated in containers and tanks.

Under a New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) permit, contaminated soils were removed from the cesspool and groundwater monitoring wells were installed. There is groundwater at the site that is contaminated with solvents and metals from the former cesspool that is being investigated.


Site Responsibility at this Facility

Cleanup work is being conducted by the Town of Boonton, which is the owner of the property, under a Memorandum of Agreement with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).