Horseshoe Road

Overview

The Horseshoe Road site covers 12 acres in Sayreville, New Jersey, near the Raritan River. It includes three distinct areas: a former Atlantic Development Corporation facility that processed coal tar, asbestos, sealants, epoxy resins, pesticides, and solvents; the Horseshoe Road Drum Dump, operated from 1972 into the early 1980s; and the Sayreville Pesticide Dump, active from roughly 1957 into the early 1980s. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List (NPL) in September 1995.

Contamination spans soil, groundwater, sediment, surface water, and fish tissue. Key contaminants include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, benzene, and vinyl chloride in groundwater. Soil contains polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and metals including arsenic and antimony. Arsenic appears across nearly every affected medium. Earlier site activities also left behind dioxin, pesticides, and mercury.

Cleanup has moved through several stages. Between 1985 and 1999, EPA conducted five removal actions that extracted more than 3,000 buried and surface drums and cleared tanks and vats. Building demolition at the Atlantic Development Corporation facility wrapped up in 2001. In 2010, workers removed roughly 190,000 tons of contaminated soil. From September 2014 to September 2021, crews dredged contaminated sediment from the Raritan River and adjoining marsh, capped the dredged river area, and completed vegetative restoration of the upper marsh by April 2021 after applying lime to correct acidic soil conditions. Overall construction was declared complete on July 25, 2022.

EPA currently rates human exposure as under control, with no unacceptable exposure pathways identified. Contaminated groundwater migration has stabilized, and EPA found no unacceptable discharge to surface water. Monitoring continues to confirm that affected groundwater stays within its original contamination area. The most recent five-year review took place on October 26, 2022. The site is not yet ready for all anticipated uses because certain cleanup goals and required land-use controls have not been fully achieved. EPA estimates the site will reach sitewide readiness for anticipated reuse between October and December 2026. The site has not been deleted from the NPL.

Community members who want to learn more or stay involved can contact EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator or the Remedial Project Manager directly using the information below. Public records are also available at the Sayreville Public Library in Parlin and at the EPA Region 2 Records Center in New York.