Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Lanxess Sybron Chemicals Incorporated in Birmingham, New Jersey
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Site Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Site Responsibility
Cleanup Status
The property is being cleaned up under the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Property Transfer Program. Thirty-five areas of concern were identified during investigations at the site. Twenty-eight areas of concern received no further action approval from NJDEP due to either:
- Evidence that no release had occurred;
- Sampling results indicated soil contaminant levels were below applicable standards; or
- Remediation (e.g., soil removal, capping) and post-remediation sampling indicated contaminant levels were below applicable standards.
The remaining areas of concern are being investigated or remediated by Lanxess Sybron and/or awaiting no further action approval from NJDEP. A comprehensive groundwater and surface water monitoring program is being developed and implemented for the site.
Site Description
The Lanxess Sybron Chemicals, Inc. plant is located on Birmingham Road in Birmingham, in a semi-rural area of northwest Burlington County, New Jersey. The North Branch of Rancocas Creek flows through the middle of the property, with Sybron's wastewater treatment plant, offices and former open-pit mine on the northern bank and the production facilities on the southern bank. Land use in the vicinity of the site is primarily agricultural intermingled with a small amount of development.
The Lanxess Sybron plant has been in operation since the early 1900s. Lanxess Sybron produces ion-exchange resins for water treatment, emulsion polymers and formulated products for use in textile finishing, acrylic polymers for dental prostheses, toner polymers and floor waxes, and other specialty organic chemicals. Lanxess Sybron is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bayer Corporation, and Bayer is responsible for environmental cleanup at the site.
Contaminants at this Facility
Contamination at the site resulted from chemical releases from various lagoons, tanks, storage areas, and dumping areas. Groundwater is contaminated with organic chemicals, including 1,2-dichloropropane and other lower concentration contaminants. Groundwater discharges to the adjacent surface water body, the North Branch of Rancocas Creek.
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.