Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Alcatel-Lucent USA Incorporated, in Murray Hill, New Jersey
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Site Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Site Responsibility
Cleanup Status
Alcatel-Lucent assumed responsibility for clean-up of the Site in 1996 pursuant to the requirements of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Industrial Site Recovery Act (ISRA), which was triggered as a result of the AT&T’s transfer of the property to Lucent Technologies Inc. The Clean-up approach consists of several Engineering Control such as an In-Situ Chemical Oxidation (ISCO) as an Interim Remedial Measures (IRM) to eliminate the source of the dissolve trichloroethene (TCE) groundwater plume; Hydraulic Fracture; periodic dredging of sediments; Installation of a sub-slab mitigation system in one home in 2003; soil vapor extraction (SVE) injection wells, Monitoring Natural Attenuation (MNA), and the establishment of Institutional Controls in the form of a Classification Exception Area (CEA). A successful In-Situ Chemical Oxidation (ISCO) interim remedial measure (IRMI, mitigating the source of TCE groundwater plume (i.e, TCE concentrations greater than 10,000 micrograms per liter (µg/l) referred to as the dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) source zone’’), was implemented at the Site from June 2008 through 2009. An Interim measure (IRM) was prepared in July 2010 and approved by NJDEP on February 22, 2011. The CEA/WRA was established over the footprint of the plume to restrict ground water use within the area of groundwater contamination, thereby preventing direct contact with groundwater contaminants pursuant to NJDEP’s letter dated February 2011. A full scale Remedial Action was implemented in 2011 in accordance with a May 26. 2011 Remedial Action Selection Report/Remedial Action Plan (RASR/RAWP) approved by NJDEP on August 15, 2011. A positive Human Exposure Under Control (CA725) and a positive Release to Groundwater Under control were achieved on August 3, 2012. A Remedial Action and Technical Impracticability Determination Report (RAR/TID) to document and describe remedial action (RA) activities was implemented to mitigate the TCE groundwater plume between 2014 and 2017. The Facility was mobilized for the injection groundwater sampling on June 29, 2016 with injection on NaMnO4 into ISCO wells on June 30, 2016. The post-injection sampling event will therefore be conducted in January 2017. Sampling events of groundwater monitoring wells to investigate 1,4-dioxane based on the Groundwater Quality Standards were conducted in February, May and October 2017. Groundwater monitoring and Salt Brook surface water sampling were conducted in February 2017 pursuant to the Classification Exception area (CEA)/Well Restriction Area (WRA) to ensure the long term protection of public health and safety. A Remedy Construction Completed (CA550) was achieved on September 26, 2018.
Site Description
Alcatel-Lucent, formerly know a Lucent Technologies Inc., or its predecessors including AT&T Bell Laboratories (Bell Lab), has occupied the Site since the 1940s. The site consists of approximately 200 acres and located at 600 Mountain Avenue, Murray Hill, New Jersey, Union County. The larger portion of the site is located in Berkeley Heights Township with the northern portion of the Site in the Borough of New Providence. The Site is comprised of laboratories office space (for administrative and software development), and computer facilities. The Treatment Plant and Steam Plant Buildings are located throughout the Site to provide services for the daily operation of the facility. Residential areas (typically single family homes) are located within 200 feet to the south and east of the Site.
Contaminants at this Facility
Groundwater, Surface Waters (Blue Brook tributary just downgradient of the basin, and Salt Brook), and Stormwater Drainage Ditch Sediment are contaminated at the site due to historical handling of solvents. As part of the New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NJPDES), groundwater investigations were completed in 1982. Monitoring well sampling results indicated the presence of VOCs, chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons (CAHs) and predominantly trichloroethene (TCE) at concentrations above NJDEP Standards. Because TCE was and is the primary constituent of concern, the groundwater contamination is referred to as the TCE groundwater plume. The contaminants associated with the groundwater at the site area as follow: chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons (CAHs) and predominantly trichloroethene (TCE).
Site Responsibility at this Facility
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action activities at this facility have been conducted under the direction of EPA Region 2.