The Trenton Fibre Drum Co. site was deemed unsafe in 1984.
By: Lea Kahn
The state Department of Environmental Protection is going ahead with plans to clean the long-abandoned Trenton Fibre Drum site at 1545 New York Ave.
The DEP has decided to excavate 8,200 tons of contaminated soil on the 1.6-acre property and fill the area with clean soil, Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun said. About 180 tons of soil along a drainage ditch to the north and south of the site, which was first deemed polluted in 1984, also would be removed.
The DEP will eliminate groundwater contamination by injecting chemicals into the groundwater, Mr. Krawczun said. The chemicals would help natural organisms break down the contaminants, which include benzene, tetrachloroethene, trichloroethene, vinyl chloride, arsenic, mercury, nickel and zinc.
Mr. Krawczun said the DEP informed township officials of its plan to proceed with the cleanup in a Dec. 1 letter. The decision follows a May 4 public hearing to explore proposed cleanup techniques.
"(The site) is near a residential neighborhood," Mr. Krawczun said. "There have been no reports of illness, but the fact is, the soil is contaminated and it needs to be removed. This will inhibit any spread of contaminants beyond the site."
The property belonged to Jack Binder, who operated it as the Trenton Fibre Drum Co., according to the DEP report. The company cleaned out used metal drums. An acidic wash was used to remove the chemicals stored inside the drums, so they could be repainted and reused. Contamination occurred when the rinse solution was dumped on the ground.
Known informally as the barrel factory, the Trenton Fibre Drum Co. went out of business in 1984 after it was destroyed by fire. The DEP subsequently discovered hazardous materials on the site.
Lawrence Township obtained tax liens against the property for unpaid real estate taxes in 1990, but decided against foreclosing on the lien and taking ownership of it, Mr. Krawczun said. The last major site cleanup activity occurred in 1991, when approximately1,000 drums and a 550-gallon underground storage tank were removed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Mayor Michael Powers said he was pleased to learn the DEP is moving ahead with plans to clean the site. The site remediation work has been a long time coming, he said.
"It is one of the less hazardous (contaminated) sites, because there is no off-site contamination," Mayor Powers said. "Sometimes, less attention is paid to those (types of) sites by the DEP, because there is no threat to the surrounding properties."
Mr. Krawczun said it will take about 18 months for the DEP to draw up the design specifications for the remediation plan, and another six months to put it out to bid and award a contract. He said it would take 24 months "before we see any action."
The cost of cleanup would be funded by the DEP, he said. Although the actual price won’t be known until after the project is bid and a contract is awarded, previous estimates by the DEP pegged the cost at $3.6 million.
Mr. Krawczun said it is unlikely the land would be redeveloped or used for recreational purposes, because it would have to be cleaned up to residential standards. The DEP’s cleanup plan does not meet those standards, so the land will remain vacant, he said.

