JIS Landfill

Overview

JIS Landfill, also known as Jones Industrial Services Inc, sits on 24 acres in South Brunswick Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey. The landfill operated from 1956 to 1980, accepting industrial, chemical, and municipal wastes. EPA added it to the National Priorities List (NPL) on September 8, 1983, after testing in 1975 found high levels of contaminants in nearby drinking water wells. The site remains on the NPL today.

EPA identified 17 contaminants of concern in soil and groundwater. These include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene, tetrachloroethene, and 1,1,1-trichloroethane, heavy metals including arsenic and lead, pesticides such as DDT and its breakdown products DDD and DDE, polychlorinated biphenyls (Aroclor 1260), and aromatic compounds like phenanthrene and pyrene.

Cleanup has moved through several major phases. The landfill was capped in two phases between 1983 and 1985, and a new hazardous waste cap was installed in 2001. Starting in 1992, affected homes and businesses were connected to the public water system. A biosparging system, which pumps oxygen into the ground to help natural organisms break down VOCs, began operating in March 2005. EPA issued a Record of Decision in August 1995 selecting groundwater cleanup technologies, then amended that decision in September 2009 to add in-situ aerobic bioremediation and monitored natural attenuation. Sitewide construction was completed on September 29, 2009. The site reached ready for anticipated reuse status on March 27, 2015.

EPA has determined that human exposure is under control and that contaminated groundwater movement has been stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. Long-term response actions continue under EPA oversight. Institutional controls include groundwater use restrictions, a deed notice recorded with Middlesex County on March 16, 2017, and a Classification Exception Area and Well Restriction Area approved in May 2013 to prevent new wells in the contaminated plume area. A Vapor Intrusion Sampling Plan approved in 2011 guides ongoing monitoring of nearby structures, and any result exceeding screening levels triggers assessments within 100 feet of that location. EPA completed its fifth Five-Year Review on November 18, 2024, confirming that cleanup actions continue to protect human health and the environment.

Community members who want more information can contact the two EPA staff members assigned to the site. Additional records are available at the EPA Records Center at 290 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10007, by appointment at (212) 637-4308.