New soil for residents at Superfund site

VINELAND – Fresh grass and soil  make a world of difference. Just ask the 18 homeowners in the three-block radius around the contaminated Kil-Tone Co. waste site.

City officials on Thursday gave a tour of the residential area near the shuttered Chestnut Avenue pesticides factory to local media.

As part of an environmental cleanup led by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, crews in recent weeks have been tasked with replacing soil in residential yards.

“We are proud of all the work the EPA and their contractors are doing to help remediate the area,” Mayor Ruben Bermudez said, standing inside the EPA’s temporary local office. “The EPA, under its removal program, is ensuring that the people in center city Vineland are protected from being exposed to contaminated soils and have gardens this summer.”

PREVIOUSLY:Kil-Tone site added to Superfund list

Earlier this year, the EPA announced the Kil-Tone site was added to its Superfund Cleanup list, which allows federal work to mitigate hazardous materials there.

“The EPA is committed to protecting residents from the high levels of arsenic and lead at this site,” EPA Regional Administrator Judith A. Enck said in a previous Daily Journal article. “The EPA has contacted community members and residents throughout the process to address the pollution. Now we can do the additional sampling needed to determine the best way to clean it up.”

The Kil-Tone facility, at 527 E. Chestnut Ave.,  was a pesticides manufacturer in the early 20th century under two ownerships. Ground water and soil both at the site and at nearby homes have been found to be contaminated with arsenic and lead.

Arsenic is a carcinogen, and lead is a toxic metal that can cause developmental problems in children along with other adverse health effects in adults.

The site was originally investigated in 2014 by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which discovered the arsenic and lead through soil samples.

Last year, the EPA confirmed the DEP’s findings, adding its own discovery of arsenic and lead along a part of the Maurice River.

IN OTHER VINELAND CLEANUP NEWS:EPA to evaluate hazardous Vineland site in February

Dozens of homes have been found with contaminated soil on their properties, resulting in a public meeting held by the EPA last summer.

This spring, the EPA has been on site to limit waste exposure by placing sod, stone, mulch and other barriers at the impacted areas.

Homes had their lawns and gardens dug up, and replaced anew — all at no cost to residents.

Carmen Miguel, who lives on Sixth Street with her three daughters, said she was delighted to have the work done, especially considering she and her children regularly eat home-grown vegetables.

She talked through a translator — Vineland Health educator Emma Lopez.

“(The EPA) explained the harm … we didn’t have any health problems,"  Miguel said. "I’m very grateful.”

Another homeowner, Sol Mendez, lives on Chestnut Avenue less than a block from the contamination site.

She was upset when she was initially told about the contamination  by health officials two years ago,  but was nevertheless grateful for the work being done.

“It made me upset that I didn’t know,” she said. “If I knew, I wouldn’t have bought the house 13 years ago.”

Mendez had to alter her family's lifestyle when she found out the soil had small traces of contamination.

“As soon as they told me, I had to have my kid stop playing outside,” she said. “She had a swing … we couldn’t have her playing outside.”

She has an 8-year-old daughter who adores outside play, Mendez said.

Now that the family has new landscaping, her daughter is able to play outside once again, but Mendez warns against digging around too much or putting soil in the mouth.

“She asks me if it’s OK to play in certain ways,” Mendez said. “But kids just do whatever they want to do.”

Mendez said she hasn’t noticed any major health problems in herself, her husband or child.

A final cleanup is scheduled to occur in the near future, according to the EPA.

Daniel J. Kov: (856) 563-5262; dkov@thedailyjournal.com