Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Raritan, New Jersey

Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Raritan, New Jersey

On this page:

• Current Action: Proposed Permit Modification
• Cleanup Status
• Site Description
• Contaminants at this Facility
• Site Responsibility

Current Action: Proposed Permit Modification

The EPA is asking the public to comment on its proposed permit modification to require Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc., or OCD, to complete the cleanup measures for four areas at its Raritan, New Jersey, site and to make No Further Action determinations for the remaining areas that have already met cleanup goals or at which investigations did not find evidence of release.

The public comment period is open from September 5, 2025, through October 20, 2025. See the Public Notice with details on how to review and comment on the proposed permit modification. 

Cleanup Status

OCD thoroughly investigated the impacts of past operations and completed cleanup of all releases, except at the four areas at which ongoing cleanup measures have been implemented and are effective but need to continue. The future activities will include not only further cleanup, but also long-term monitoring or other follow-up actions (e.g., deed restrictions), as needed. For a summary of cleanup activities at the site, see the EPA’s Fact Sheet. For complete details on the proposed permit modification, see the EPA’s proposed permit modification  document.

Site Description

Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, Inc., or OCD, conducts research and production related to transfusion medicine (donor screening and immunohematology) products, primarily hospital and laboratory reagent “kits” used primarily for blood chemistry testing products. The majority of the hazardous wastes generated at the facility are spent organic solvents, with the remainder comprised of metals, other inorganic wastes, and alcohols from disinfection. The facility no longer treats or stores hazardous waste in ways that would require a RCRA operating permit for daily operations. All the hazardous waste management operations that required permits, including waste incineration and long-term onsite storage, ended in 1991. As such, the remaining hazardous waste permit is only for site investigation and cleanup, or corrective action. 

The OCD facility is located in an industrially zoned area of Raritan Borough, Somerset County, New Jersey. The site is approximately 66 acres, of which about 9 acres are covered by buildings, 16 acres by paved surfaces, 30 acres by landscaped areas, and 11 acres by wooded areas. The surrounding area is a mix of industrial and residential, with a New Jersey Transit Raritan Maintenance Yard and tracks located south and southeast of the site; a mix of manufacturing and residences to the east; and a commercial property to the west. There are no active residential wells within a half-mile distance in the direction of groundwater flow from the site, with all residences connected to a public drinking water system. The facility will continue to be an industrial site for the foreseeable future.

Contaminants at this Facility

Site investigations have found areas of the groundwater at the site that are contaminated with trichloroethylene, or TCE; benzene; vinyl chloride; and tetrachloroethylene, also known as PCE or Perc. These chemicals, known as volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are potentially harmful contaminants that easily evaporate in the air and can migrate from the soil into the groundwater if groundwater is not removed or treated. The site investigations also found that some areas of soil contained polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, lead, mercury, antimony, beryllium, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, and fuel oil.

Site Responsibility at this Facility

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) NJPDES-DGW Permit:

OCD is addressing groundwater contamination under the New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System – Discharge to Ground Water (NJPDES-DGW) permit (No. NJ0057894), which requires OCD to install groundwater monitoring wells in response to the closure/post-closure of the methanol underground storage tank and include additional monitoring wells to address site groundwater contamination. 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):

OCD is addressing cleanup of site under the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendment (HSWA) permit (NJD068715424) issued in 1988, which required OCD to conduct a corrective action program (site investigation and cleanup) to address solid waste management units and areas of concern. The EPA has proposed to modify the permit to address the investigation findings, past cleanup work, and remaining work to be completed.