Case Studies: Successful and Unsuccessful Redevelopment of Contaminated Sites - Urban Watersheds: Geology, Contamination, and Sustainable Development - page 485

• The fate and transport of chromium VI at this site indicates it is more mobile than
other heavy metals in the environment. Lead, nickel, cadmium, and mercury were
also released at this site, but only chromium VI was mobile enough to contaminate
groundwater.
• A low building location—in this case a sump—was the source of the contamination.
• Successful remediation is possible using a simple and established method (exca-
vation) and an innovative method (in situ chemical treatment for deeper soil and
groundwater).

14.7 Case Study 6: New Jersey
Case Study 6 is located in an urban area in New Jersey (NJDEP 2010). It became a brownfield
site when shut down after a long operational history that began in 1760. Approximately
23 ha (50 ac) of the 114 ha (250 ac) site were used for industrial operations and were foundry
related. The remaining 91 ha (200 ac) were used for other purposes such as agriculture,
trucking, landfilling, and a shooting range or were forested. Table 14.6 lists some basic
information concerning the site, and Figure 14.22 shows an aerial photograph of the site
taken in 2006.
Investigation of this site began with a Phase I ESA that identified more than 200 RECs.
Several Phase II subsurface investigations were conducted to find and define the nature
and extent of contamination at the site. These activities included drilling more than 300
soil borings, installing groundwater monitoring wells, and collecting and analyzing
more than 1000 samples of soil, groundwater, and sediment for selected compounds that
included DNAPL and LNAPL VOCs, PAHs, SVOCs, PCBs, and heavy metals (As, Ba, Cd,
Cr, Cu, Pb, Hg, Se, Ag, and Zn).
Several contaminants were detected in soil, including LNAPL and DNAPL VOCs, PAHs,
SVOCs, PCBs, and heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury). Contaminants

TABLE 14.6
New Jersey Site Characteristics

Characteristic Site Information

Location New Jersey

Years of operation Nearly 250 years

Size of property Over 250 ac

Geologic setting Fluvial sediments

Soil type and stratigraphy Silt and fine-grained sand interbedded with clay

Contaminants detected LNAPL and DNAPL VOCs, PCBs, PAHs, arsenic,

cadmium, chromium III, lead, and mercury

COC PCBs, PAHs, lead, and mercury

Depth to groundwater Less than 1.5 m beneath the surface of the ground

Highest CRF GW ranking Mercury 3.1

Highest CRF SOIL ranking Mercury 15,600

Geovulnerability ranking 67