Middlesex Boro Superfund Site Will Become Public Works Facility

MIDDLESEX BOROUGH, NJ — On Wednesday, officials with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) toured the Middlesex Sampling Plant Superfund site.

They hailed the site as a success story that can serve as a model for polluted sites across the country. That's because today, after decades of remediation, the site is ready to be transferred to the borough of Middlesex. Middlesex plans to construct a public works facility there, plus a new road that will serve the town.

The Middlesex Sampling Plant Superfund site is a 9.6-acre property at 239 Mountain Avenue in Middlesex borough.

It was once a uranium sampling and handling facility for the nation’s atomic weapons program. From 1943 to 1967, the Manhattan Engineer District, a government organization that helped develop the first atomic bomb, used the site to sample, store, test and transfer ores containing uranium, thorium and beryllium.

The site was designated for federal clean-up in 1980 and was listed on the Superfund National Priorities List in 1999.

The EPA gave Middlesex borough Mayor John Madden an award Wednesday.

“The Middlesex Sampling Plant is a remarkable example of how contaminated sites can be transformed from environmental liabilities into community assets,” said EPA Region 2 Administrator Lisa Garcia. “This award celebrates the hard work and dedication of all the partners involved in cleaning up and redeveloping this site for the benefit of the people of Middlesex and beyond. The site, which was once a source of environmental and health risks, is now a model of sustainable redevelopment and community revitalization.”