The Atlantic Resources Corporation site is a 4.5-acre former precious metals recovery facility in Sayreville, New Jersey. The facility processed gold and silver from fly ash, circuit boards, x-ray film, and other waste materials through incineration, smelting, and acid etching from 1972 until the company filed for bankruptcy in 1985. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in 2002 and organized cleanup into three operable units covering buildings, soil and groundwater, and a marsh and river area.
EPA identified 43 contaminants of concern across the site. Soil and groundwater contain volatile organic compounds including trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, benzene, and vinyl chloride, along with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, metals such as arsenic and antimony, and PCBs. Buildings and structures contained arsenic, antimony, PCB Aroclor 1254, and dioxin. The adjacent marsh and Raritan River showed arsenic contamination in surface water, sediment, and fish tissue.
Cleanup actions began in 1987 when EPA removed acids from leaking vats, addressed mercury spills, and disposed of hazardous drums. Potentially responsible parties demolished all structures by May 2003. Starting in 2014, EPA removed roughly 120,000 tons of contaminated soil. Hydraulic dredging of Raritan River sediments and mechanical dredging of the adjoining marsh ran from summer 2015 through November 2017. Acidic soil conditions in the upper marsh required lime treatment in January 2020 before replanting succeeded in June 2020. A final inspection in April 2021 marked the marsh and river restoration as complete.
All contaminants have been removed from the site or covered with protective fill. Human exposure to contamination is under control, and contaminated groundwater is stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. Soil and groundwater remediation moved to operation and maintenance in October 2024. Physical construction across the entire site finished in July 2022. The site is not yet ready for all anticipated future uses, and EPA continues monitoring groundwater. The most recent five-year review was completed in October 2022, and the site is estimated to be ready for anticipated reuse between October and December 2026.
Community members can view site documents at the USEPA Records Center at 290 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10007, by calling (212) 637-4308, or at the Sayreville Public Library at 1050 Washington Road in Parlin, New Jersey.
