Meeting set for 7 p.m. at Hopewell Elementary School
By Aleen Crispino
Environmental engineering consulting firm Blasland, Bouck and Lee (BBLES) of Cranbury will host a public information meeting at 7 p.m. on Sept. 21 at Hopewell Elementary School.
The meeting will focus on the firm’s efforts to contain and reduce groundwater contamination at the former Rockwell/Kooltronic site in Hopewell Borough, and its monitoring of air quality in surrounding borough residences, as well as homes in The King’s Path development in Hopewell Township.
John Persico, a BBLES associate, will report on his company’s plans for groundwater remediation as well as the air quality investigation and efforts at mitigation, said Councilman David Mackie during Monday’s Hopewell Borough Council session.
Flyers announcing the meeting, along with newsletters, are being distributed to homes in the area surrounding the former Rockwell/Kooltronic site, said Mr. Persico in a phone interview Tuesday. The site is located on Hamilton Avenue, bordered by Somerset Street to the north and Lafayette Street to the south.
Also attending will be New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) case manager, Ray Pinkstone, and a representative from Rockwell Automation, said Mr. Persico.
BBLES was hired by Rockwell Automation of Milwaukee, Wis., to pump out and treat contaminated groundwater at the site on which it operated as Rockwell Manufacturing Co. from the early 1900s to 1975, producing taximeters, water meters, airplane instruments and other devices at the site before selling to Kooltronic.
Kooltronic, which manufactures cooling systems for electronic, industrial, medical and telecommunication equipment, moved to Route 31 in Hopewell Township about seven years ago, where it maintains its headquarters as well as a manufacturing department, according to the company’s Web site.
NJDEP has found Rockwell to be responsible for groundwater contamination at the site and ordered them to remediate it.
"Past operations by Rockwell were responsible for the contamination of the Kooltronic site," said Mr. Pinkstone in a phone interview in July. No penalty has been assessed to Rockwell, he said. Penalties have been assessed to "responsible parties" in the past if they do not cooperate with NJDEP and remediate a contaminated site, said Mr. Pinkstone. However, in this case, "the site is moving forward," he added.
Trichloroethene is "the primary contaminant" of the groundwater at the Rockwell/Kooltronic site, said Mr. Pinkstone in July. Also known as trichloroethylene or TCE, it is a solvent once commonly used to degrease metals.
The highest concentration of TCE found in tests of groundwater at the site in 2000 was 400 thousand parts per billion, said Mr. Pinkstone in July. The New Jersey Groundwater Quality Standard for TCE is one part per billion, he said.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Web site, "Some people who drink water containing trichloroethylene in excess of the MCL (maximum contaminant level, which, for TCE, is 5 parts per billion) over many years could experience problems with their liver and may have an increased risk of getting cancer."
Hopewell Borough residents are connected to the municipal water supply. A portion of this supply has been provided by New Jersey American Water, a subsidiary of American Water, based in Voorhees, since March 2006 through an interconnection project between the two water systems. Houses in The King’s Path development also receive their water supply from American Water.
There is the possibility of the intrusion of TCE, classified by NJDEP as a "volatile organic chemical" (VOC), into the air inside basements and living areas of homes on surrounding streets as the groundwater evaporates from the soil, said Councilman Mackie.
"Until a few years ago, the focus was on groundwater," said Councilman Mackie. "NJDEP issued vapor intrusion guidelines within the past year," he said.
According to a New York State Department of Health Web site: "In humans, long-term exposure to workplace air containing high levels of TCE (generally greater than about 40,000 micrograms of TCE per cubic meter of air) is linked to effects on the central nervous system (reduced scores on tests evaluating motor coordination, nausea, headaches, dizziness) and irritation of the mucous membranes. Exposure to higher levels for short periods of time can irritate the eyes and respiratory tract, and can cause effects on the central nervous system, including dizziness, headache, sleepiness, nausea, confusion, blurred vision and fatigue. In laboratory animals, exposure to high levels of TCE has damaged the central nervous system, liver and kidneys, and adversely affected reproduction and development of offspring. Lifetime exposure to high levels of TCE has caused cancer in laboratory animals."
Documents related to the Rockwell/Kooltronic remediation site, including a copy of a recent report issued by BBLES to the NJDEP, may be read and/or copied at Hopewell Public Library. 13 E. Broad St. in Hopewell Borough.

