Site Progress

As a result of past industrial usage, there are a number of waste management areas, as well as areas of impacted soil and groundwater at the site. Over the past three decades, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) issued multiple Administrative Consent Orders (ACOs) and Records of Decision (RODs) for the investigation and remediation of the site.  While significant progress has been made, investigations, engineering, design and active remediation are ongoing at the site.

Information regarding ongoing site operations and monitoring can be found here and on the Ongoing Efforts page.

Recent Progress

Wyeth Holdings LLC (WH), formerly known as American Cyanamid Company and the current owner of the American Cyanamid Superfund Site, is working with the USEPA to implement a remedial action program at the American Cyanamid Superfund Site.

WH is working under a Consent Decree with USEPA to remediate site soils, site groundwater, and a majority of the remaining impoundments, jointly designated as Operable Unit 4 (OU4). The full remedy is described in a ROD issued by USEPA on September 27, 2012.   The WH team has invested significant resources in the engineering and design of this remediation program. Construction of the groundwater control, extraction, treatment, and reinjection system is complete and the system is fully operational. To learn more about the site-wide remedy and its status, visit the Site-wide Remedy page.

WH is working with the USEPA under an Administrative Order on Consent for remedial design and engineering and a Consent Decree for remedial action implementation for Operable Unit 8 (OU8), commonly referred to as Impoundments 1 and 2. To learn more about EPA’s selected remedy and its status, visit the OU8 page.

Early Accomplishments

Over the past three decades, a number of significant measures have been taken to remediate portions of the site and protect human health and the environment. The following is a summary of accomplishments at the site, including efforts completed prior to Pfizer’s involvement.

  • In July 2011, WH proceeded with the design and construction of a subsurface system along the southeastern portion of the site to address impacted groundwater found seeping into the Raritan River adjacent to the property. Construction of the interim groundwater collection and treatment system was completed in April 2012 and treatment operations began in May 2012, upon issuance of NJDEP surface water discharge requirements. Water quality monitoring at ten locations in the Raritan River and adjacent tributaries showed a significant decrease in benzene levels after the system began operations. The groundwater containment and extraction components were later incorporated into the site-wide groundwater treatment system and the interim system was decommissioned in 2019.
  • For more than 30 years, a bedrock groundwater extraction well system operated in place to control the migration of groundwater through continuous pumping and treatment. Components of this bedrock groundwater extraction system have been optimized and incorporated into the site-wide groundwater system commissioned in 2019.
  • Remedial actions have been concluded for Impoundments 11, 14, 18, 19, 20 and 26, and each of these has been closed with No Further Action (NFA) required.
  • Waste materials in several other areas have been remediated (including Lagoons 6, 7, 8, and 9A; and Impoundment 25).
  • Iron oxide material located in Impoundments 15 and 16, and the former drying bed area, was excavated and transported off-site. Over 147,000 tons of iron oxide was transported off-site by rail for recycling.
  • Approximately 70 acres and 1 million cubic yards of waste have been remediated to date.
  • Approximately 10 million gallons of pumpable tars have been removed from the Site and treated through fuel blending operations and recycling/reuse.

USEPA inspects Superfund sites every five years to ensure that completed cleanups remain fully protective of human health and the environment.  The most recent (Sixth) American Cyanamid Superfund Site Five-Year Review was completed August 20, 2024 and is available on USEPA’s website (https://semspub.epa.gov/src/document/02/704699) or can be viewed here.