NL Industries

Overview

The NL Industries site is a 44-acre former lead smelting and battery recycling facility in Pedricktown, New Jersey. It operated from 1972 to 1982, with brief additional operations in 1983 and 1984. The EPA added it to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) in September 1983. The NPL is the federal list of sites that need long-term cleanup attention. Cleanup work is divided into three operable units covering sitewide activities, soil and groundwater, and buildings and slag piles.

The main contaminants are lead and cadmium, found in soil, groundwater, surface water, and sediment. Other heavy metals detected include arsenic, antimony, beryllium, chromium, copper, nickel, and zinc. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including vinyl chloride, tetrachloroethene, 1,1-dichloroethane, and 1,1-dichloroethene, are also present in soil and groundwater. Lead and cadmium levels in groundwater exceed drinking water standards.

Cleanup has happened in several phases. Between 1992 and 1995, over 13,000 tons of lead-bearing slag were treated and removed, buildings were demolished, and more than 764,000 gallons of contaminated water were taken off-site. From 2000 to 2003, more than 150,000 tons of contaminated soil and sediment were excavated and disposed of off-site. A second soil removal round from 2011 to 2016 took out about 5,900 more tons after monitoring found areas still exceeding cleanup goals. For groundwater, the EPA shifted from a pump-and-treat plan to a chemical injection approach. A full round of injections ran from April to September 2021, but 2022 sampling showed it did not fully remediate the groundwater. A second round of injections ran from August 2024 to March 2025, and a third round is planned for spring 2026. Construction is estimated to finish between December 2026 and February 2027.

The EPA's most recent five-year review, completed in August 2023, confirmed that current cleanup actions protect public health and the environment. The migration of contaminated groundwater has been stabilized, and the EPA is monitoring to keep contamination within its current area. Human exposure is assessed as under control at this time, meaning no unacceptable pathways for people to contact contamination currently exist. The site has not yet been deleted from the NPL and is not yet ready for unrestricted future use. One business is currently operating on-site as of December 2024.

Community members who want to learn more or ask questions can contact the EPA directly. The Community Involvement Coordinator is Natalie Loney, reachable by phone or email. The Remedial Project Manager for technical questions is Malek Shami. Site documents are available at the EPA Superfund Records Center in New York City and at the Penns Grove Public Library in Penns Grove, New Jersey. The next five-year review is estimated for August through October 2028.