EPA Sets Information Session on Cyanamid Site Testing Plans

Residents interested in the plans to test two methods of cleaning up corrosive tar compounds stored in two ponds at the former American Cyanamid site off Main Street, in the Finderne section of Bridgewater, can attend an information session slated for Oct. 24.

The EPA set the session to be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Bridgewater municipal building to review the plans to try the two methods of cleaning the compound, heating it and mixing it with other chemicals.

Residents will also be able to learn more about the monitoring underway at the site through the duration of the tests, and other safety precautions being taken.

After the tests, one of the methods may be selected for the final cleanup at the 435-acre site that housed chemical plants from 1915 until the 1990s. About 140 acres of the site has been removed from the Superfund list, and redeveloped as the Bridgewater Promenade and the TD Bank Ballpark.

The remaining areas are still being treated to clean groundwater contaminated by benzene and other volatile organic chemicals—but the two impoundment pools the testing will be conducted on contain the area's most problematic contamination.

If the tests yield positive results and win approval from the EPA, a final, site-wide remediation plan may be in place to clean the land within about 10 years.