Hazardous Waste Cleanup: American Standard Incorporated in Hamilton Township, New Jersey
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Site Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Site Responsibility
Cleanup Status
In 1990, the company removed the waste piles and any remaining contaminated clay from the canal, settling basins and one of the two landfills and consolidated it the other landfill. Before doing so, the company put an approved cap on top of the landfill to protect it from the elements and installed monitoring wells at the perimeter of the landfill to detect contaminants in the unlikely event that they are released into the groundwater. A natural layer of clay under the landfill acts as a liner, preventing contaminants from moving from the landfill into underlying soils and groundwater.
The landfill is now officially closed. A permit from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) requires that the company sample the two landfill areas for groundwater contamination every year, and the canal and settling basins every five years. Some non-hazardous clays are left in the canal, the settling basins and the landfill from which the hazardous clays were removed. American Standard has filed deed restrictions on these areas to ensure that if they were sold, the buyer would not be permitted to do anything on the property that might disturb the waste.
NJDEP will continue to monitor groundwater quality at the site to ensure that it is not affected by the contaminated soils.
Site Description
American Standard Incorporated is located at 240 Princeton Avenue in Trenton, New Jersey. American Standard's Trenton Pottery Facility has operated at its present location since 1923. The facility manufactures ceramic plumbing fixtures using clay, plaster of paris and various glazes.
Contaminants at this Facility
From 1933 to 1970, American Standard discharged wastewater contaminated with barium and trace amounts of other metals into a nearby canal leading to Bear Swamp. In 1970 the company stopped discharging into the canal, and instead began to discharge the wastewater into a series of settling basins - man-made pond-like structures in which materials heavier than water settle to the bottom.
Periodically, American Standard dredged the barium-contaminated clay from the bottom of the canal and the settling basins and left it on the ground nearby until it dried. The clay was then either left in piles or disposed-off in two unlined landfills at the American Standard facility. The clays of the canal and settling basins were the only areas of contamination resulting from past wastewater discharges; the groundwater below the facility has not been contaminated.
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.