Evor Phillips Leasing

Overview

The Evor Phillips Leasing site is a six-acre former waste treatment and disposal facility in Old Bridge Township, New Jersey. It operated in the early 1970s, running nineteen furnaces to incinerate photographic film and printed circuit boards and using two unlined surface impoundments to neutralize wastewater. Because those impoundments were unlined, contaminants seeped into soil, groundwater, and surface water. The site was added to the National Priorities List (NPL) in September 1983, making it eligible for federal Superfund cleanup funding.

The EPA identified 19 contaminants of concern across two media. Soil contaminants include arsenic, lead, beryllium, copper, zinc, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dichloromethane, hexachloro-1,3-butadiene, bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, thallium, and toluene. Off-site groundwater contaminants include tetrachloroethene, trichloroethene, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane, and 1,2-dichloroethane. Two municipal wellfields sit roughly 1,000 to 3,000 feet from the site, but all nearby residents have connected to municipal water supplies and stopped using private wells.

Cleanup has been divided into four operable units covering drums and groundwater, soils, off-site groundwater, and sitewide concerns. Work began in 1983 when the state excavated 30 to 40 drums. Between 1996 and 1997, more than 1,000 buried waste containers were removed. A groundwater treatment plant ran from 1999 until extraction stopped in March 2014. Soil remediation, which included excavation and capping, was completed in November 2013. Off-site groundwater treatment uses in situ chemical oxidation (injecting chemicals directly into the ground to break down contaminants). Two injection events in March 2014 and June 2015 reduced contaminant mass, though some residual contamination remained. Major construction across the site was completed in April 2024, and off-site groundwater remediation transitioned to long-term response action oversight in September 2024.

Human exposure is currently under control. The site is fenced, soils have been excavated and capped, and no residents are drinking contaminated groundwater. The EPA has determined the site poses no immediate threat to the surrounding community during cleanup. However, groundwater migration status remains uncertain due to insufficient data, and cleanup goals for current and future land uses have not all been met. The site remains on the NPL and is not yet ready for its anticipated reuse. The next five-year review is estimated between October and December 2026.

Community members with questions about cleanup progress or involvement can contact the Community Involvement Coordinator or the Remedial Project Manager. Site documents are available for in-person review at the EPA Superfund Records Center, 290 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10007.