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Jones Industrial Service (JIS) operated a landfill in an agricultural area of Jamesburg/South Brunswick Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey. The landfill, originally a borrow pit, received liquid chemical wastes from the 1960s until the State closed it in 1980. Investigations indicate that numerous drums of solvents may also have been buried at the site. Volatile organics have contaminated the Old Bridge Formation Aquifer, and the contaminated ground water plume has migrated off-site. One residential well has been closed, and others are threatened.

The Middlesex Sampling Plant (MSP) is located in the Borough of Middlesex, New Jersey. The site consists of three sources known as the Middlesex Municipal Landfill (MML) Pile, the Vicinity Property (VP) Pile, and Facility Soils. The MSP is situated within the Raritan River drainage basin and runoff from the site flows south into a series of ditches, streams and brooks.

The MSP was established in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Engineer District (MED) for sampling, storing and shipping radioactive ores. Over the years that operations were conducted at the MSP, the buildings and soils on the MSP and vicinity land parcels were contaminated with elevated levels of radioactive hazardous substances.

Global Sanitary Landfill covers 23.37 acres in Old Bridge Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey. It had a permit from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to accept nonhazardous waste.

The landfill borders Cheesquake Creek Tidal Marsh on three sides. In April 1984, after heavy rains, two consecutive high tides occurred in the wetlands. A portion of the southern side of the landfill collapsed and slid into the adjoining wetlands. NJDEP closed the landfill later in 1984.

In 1983-84, NJDEP detected methylene chloride, chloroform, trichloroethylene, benzene, and other chemicals in leachate seeping from the site into the wetlands, thus threatening surface water in the area.

Underlying the site is the most productive aquifer in the Raritan Formation, the Old Bridge Sand Aquifer, which is overlain by the Amboy Stoneware Clay. This layer of clay, which ranges from 0-30 feet thick, is absent in the northwest corner of the landfill, thus permitting contaminants from the landfill to reach the Old Bridge Sand Aquifer. The Sayreville Water Co. has five water supply wells within 1 mile of the site; three of them draw from the Old Bridge Sand Aquifer. Approximately 86,000 people depend on wells within 3 miles of the site as their sole source of drinking water. The water supplies for Sayreville, Laurence Harbor, South Amboy, and Perth Amboy are threatened. Raritan Bay, which is approximately 2 miles from the site, is used for recreational activities.

Atlantic Development Corp. Area, where several companies manufactured, processed, and blended various chemicals. During 1975-82, NJDEPE took numerous legal actions against the companies. In mid-1980, NJDEPE removed over 1,000 drums from the area after the companies failed to do so. NJDEPE analyses of soil samples in 1985 detected volatile organic compounds (including toluene), semivolatile organic compounds, and heavy metals. EPA soil analyses in 1989 detected similar hazardous substances, plus pesticides and PCBs. In an April 1991 onsite inspection, EPA found 400 5-gallon containers holding solids and semisolids of various colors. Most containers were open, and many were crushed as a result of a fire in 1983.

Sayreville Pesticide Dump, an abandoned property now in the custody of the State. In the April 1991 inspection, EPA found at least 160 corroded or crushed drums, many containing a white powder. NJDEPE's 1985 analyses detected benzene, ethylbenzene, and toluene in soil, and EPA's 1989 analyses detected 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene, copper, and mercury. Surface water and sediments in a small stream originating near the Sayreville Pesticide Dump contain heavy metals (copper, lead, and mercury), phenol, bis (2-chloroethyl) ether, methoxychlor, lindane, chloroform, and 1,2-dichloroethane, according to EPA's 1989 analyses. Hard clams are harvested from Raritan Bay and Sandy Hook Bay, coastal tidal waters within 15 miles downstream of the site. Wetlands on and off the site are also threatened. An estimated 14,000 people obtain drinking water from public wells within 4 miles of the site.

Atlantic Resources Corp., where precious metals, and perhaps solvents, were recycled during 1972-85 by Atlantic Resources Corp. and International Resources Corp. Twice during the winter of 1986-87, mercury spilled onto the ground. In March 1987, EPA used CERCLA emergency funds to remove 70 pounds of mercury and contaminated soil to a hazardous waste facility regulated under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. EPA also removed 30 5-gallon containers of sodium cyanide, which was used in the metal recycling process.

The Cornell Dubilier Electronics Inc (CDE) site consists of a 25-acre property on Hamilton Boulevard in South Plainfield, Middlesex County, New Jersey. CDE tested transformer oils on the property for an unknown period of time until the company vacated the property in 1961. The property is currently occupied by the Hamilton Industrial Park, which consists of approximately 15 small industries. It has been alleged that during CDE's period of operation, the company dumped transformer oil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) directly onto site soils. A former employee has claimed that the rear of the property was saturated with PCB-contaminated transformer oils and that transformers were also buried behind the facility during the same time period. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) personnel visited the site on March 12, 1985 and noted in the back of the facility contained a black soil unnatural to the area. In 1988, a response letter was delivered to the NJDEP by a law firm representing CDE, which indicated that small accidental leaks or spills of PCBs occurred at the site property and that liquid-liquid-vapor degreasers were utilized during processes conducted at the site. Trichloroethylene (TCE) was the degreasing agent admitted to be used. The letter also indicated that residual wastes from the on-site processes may have been landfilled on the site property. NJDEP personnel noted that four large black tanks were present on the edge of a large filled-in area situated in the rear of the site. The tanks were at the top of an embankment leading down to the unnamed tributary to Bound Brook. Five large tanks were observed in this area by EPA on March 30, 1994 and again on June 8, 1994. The tanks were removed from the site prior to the HRS sampling event.

Several metals, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and a PCB were detected in the soil and sediment samples collected as part of a September 11, 1986 Site Inspection (SI). Soil, surface water and sediment samples were also sampled as part of a SIP conducted by EPA on June 8, 1994. The results indicated concentrations of PCBs and TCE in the site soils significantly above background levels. From a sampling event conducted on February 29, 1996, PCB, alpha-Chlordane, and TCE were detected in the site soils sampled at levels significantly above background. PCBs were detected in sediment samples at levels significantly above background.

The PCB contamination detected in the sediments of the unnamed tributary to Bound Brook documents the actual contamination of a surface water body. Additionally, the actual contamination of greater than 0.1 mile of wetland frontage in the unnamed tributary to Bound Brook was documented. At least two fisheries are known to exist within the target distance limit for the surface water pathway.

A significant number of people obtain their drinking water from the Middlesex and Elizabethtown Water Companies, both of which operate potable water supply wells within four miles of the site. The majority of the wells tap the Brunswick Shale Formation, although eight of Middlesex Water Company's 31 wells tap the overburden aquifer. Approximately 60 residential potable water supply wells were sampled and results indicated levels of TCE in excess of the Maximum Contaminant Level established for that substance. However, there is no quality assurance/quality control documentation available for the analytical data and no monitoring wells are present on or downgradient of the CDE site that could establish the presence of a groundwater plume. To date, 93 residences have been connected to the local municipal water supply system and future connections are planned.

The Woodbrook Road Dump site (Dismal Swamp) is an inactive, non-permitted dumping area located in South Plainfield, Middlesex County, New Jersey. The site, which is bisected by Bound Brook, has approximately 34 acres. It is located on two undeveloped properties north of Woodbrook Road. The properties are within wetlands of the Dismal Swamp, a natural wildlife refuge designated as "priority wetlands" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

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EPA conducted an Integrated Assessment at the site in July 2000. Surface water, sediment, drinking water well, and background soil samples were collected. The results of the sampling showed PCBs in on-site soil samples at elevated concentrations. Lead and other hazardous substances detected in on-site soils at elevated concentrations include bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(a)pyrene, indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene, antimony, arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, mercury, and zinc.

PCBs were detected in the surface water and sediment samples collected from the Secondary Tributary at elevated concentrations. The Secondary Tributary receives runoff from the area where the leaking capacitors were found. The surface water and sediment samples contaminated with PCBs delineate approximately 4,370 feet of wetland frontage subject to actual contamination. There are approximately 11 additional miles of wetland frontage along the surface water pathway potentially threatened beyond the contaminated portion. The contaminated stream within the Dismal Swamp converges into Bound Brook, which since 1998 has a fish consumption advisory due to PCB contamination related to a site located within 1.4 mile downstream of the Woodbrook Road Dump site.

The property owner has found evidence of people using the site for recreation. The trails at the site are used for nature hikes. Hunters and recreational vehicle users have been observed in the area where the leaking capacitors where found despite actions taken by the property owner and EPA to limit access. Preventive measures included installation of a fence and warning signs around the disposal area, and installation of guard rails and warning signs at access points to the site.

Ground water threatened by the Woodbrook Road Dump site serves approximately 62,000 people. The downstream surface water pathway includes Bound Brook and the Raritan River, which are classified as fisheries. The total population within 4 miles of the site is approximately 186,000 people. There are approximately 3,000 acres of wetlands located within four miles of the site.