Brook Industrial Park

Overview

Brook Industrial Park is a 4.5-acre former industrial property in Bound Brook, New Jersey, listed on the National Priorities List (NPL) since 1989. The site is also known as Blue Spruce/TIFA and Jame Fine Chemical. Industrial, chemical, and pesticide production and storage activities that began in 1971, along with poor waste disposal practices by various tenants, led to widespread contamination. The site has moved through the full cleanup lifecycle and now hosts active businesses under industrial land-use restrictions.

EPA identified 22 contaminants of concern across the site. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in groundwater include benzene, trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, vinyl chloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, chlorobenzene, and xylene. Metals such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, nickel, beryllium, and aluminum were detected in soil and groundwater. Soil also contained the pesticides aldrin, dieldrin, and p,p'-DDT, along with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Public water supply wells within 3 miles serve roughly 290,000 people, and the adjacent Raritan River is used for recreation and commerce.

EPA selected a cleanup remedy in September 1994. It called for excavating contaminated soil, demolishing the Blue Spruce building, and installing a groundwater pump-and-treat system. The Blue Spruce building came down by 1999. All contaminated soils were removed by September 2006, except for small residual amounts capped near building foundations where full removal would have threatened structural integrity. A 2013 Explanation of Significant Differences updated the remedy to add ion exchange treatment, an engineered cap, discharge to a publicly owned treatment works (POTW), institutional controls, and onsite containment. The groundwater pump-and-treat system remains in operation, and monitoring data show contaminant concentrations are stable and mostly decreasing.

The site currently poses no unacceptable human exposure risk. EPA has confirmed that no unsafe contamination pathways exist, groundwater migration is stabilized, and all cleanup goals for current and anticipated future land uses have been met. Required land-use restrictions are in place. The site achieved sitewide ready-for-anticipated-reuse status in January 2023. Four businesses now operate on the property, employing 55 people and generating roughly $11.7 million in annual sales. The most recent five-year review was completed on May 30, 2024.

Community members can get more information by contacting EPA staff directly or visiting the Superfund Records Center at 290 Broadway, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10007. EPA conducts five-year reviews on a regular schedule to confirm that cleanup actions continue to protect public health and the environment.