Wyeth working to clean up its Route 1 site

Former incinerator is major focus.

By: Gwen Runkle
   WEST WINDSOR — As development plans progress for Wyeth Inc.’s 653-acre property bordered by Route 1 and Quakerbridge Road, the company is seeking a clean bill of health for the land from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
   The site, formerly home to American Cyanamid, has been used for agricultural research for most of its development history. Two areas, one that housed a demolished incinerator and one former disposal location, were noted as being of concern by the DEP in a report two years ago.
   Wyeth officials say the former disposal area is no longer a problem and remediation of the demolished incinerator site will take place in March as part of a plan by Wyeth to get a "No Further Action" designation from the DEP.
   According to Diana Blankman, Wyeth’s assistant director of public affairs, groundwater sampling was conducted quarterly from 1995 to 2001 at the site of the former disposal area.
   "The sampling frequency has now been reduced to once per year," she said. "To date, no chemicals have been detected above applicable groundwater quality standards."
   The incinerator was demolished and removed in 1995. It burned animal carcasses, medical waste and industrial waste, according to a DEP report. The soil beneath it was sampled and found to contain slightly elevated levels of zinc in an area about 2½ cubic yards in size, Ms. Blankman said.
   "That soil will be removed from the site in March," she said. "Post-excavation samples will be collected to verify that the excavation was complete."
   In addition, to receive an NFA designation from the DEP, Wyeth must perform soil sampling in a number of areas within former pesticide test plots, various drainage ditches and ponds and from soil piles along the railroad tracks on the southern border of the property, Ms. Blankman said.
   "The samples will be analyzed for a list of specialized pesticides that were used at the site over the years," she said.
   The company plans to conduct the additional soil sampling in March as well.
   Obtaining an NFA designation from the DEP would allow the environmental issues at the site to be resolved, Ms. Blankman added. "The property could be developed without an NFA designation, but the remaining environmental issues would need to be addressed as part of the development design," she said.
   "We are extremely confident that once these issues are resolved, Wyeth will be given a clean bill of health," she added.
   Wyeth, formerly known as American Home Products, gained environmental responsibility for the site when it acquired American Cyanamid in 1994. When operation of the site was transferred to BASF in 2000, Wyeth retained ownership of the land and responsibility for environmental issues.
   BASF had ownership of the buildings and closed operations at the site over the summer of 2002.
   Wyeth currently is working with the Rouse Co., a leading development company known for projects such as South Street Seaport in New York City and Faneuil Hall in Boston, to create a mixed-use project on the tract.
   The project could include a combination of upscale shopping, adult housing, office space, research facilities, hotel space and recreational areas. Wyeth would like to preserve about 220 acres of trees and wetlands.
   Wyeth expects to have formal development plans available for review over the summer.