The Battery Recycling Company site sits in Bo. Cambalache near Arecibo, Puerto Rico. It operated a lead-acid battery recycling facility whose improper handling and smelting operations caused widespread lead contamination on the property and in surrounding areas. Earlier chemical manufacturing at the site, dating to the 1960s through 1979, also contributed to groundwater contamination. The site was added to the EPA's National Priorities List (NPL), the federal list of the most contaminated sites in the country, in August 2017.
Eight contaminants of concern have been identified. Soil across the site contains antimony, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and lead, with concentrations reaching as high as 88,800 milligrams per kilogram in some areas. Groundwater contains three chlorinated compounds: chloroethene (vinyl chloride), cis-1,2-dichloroethene, and trans-1,2-dichloroethene. Workers carried lead dust home on their clothes and vehicles, resulting in contamination at employee residences. Blood tests of workers, their families, and children under seven showed lead levels above the CDC reference value in use at the time.
EPA has conducted multiple cleanup actions since 2011. These included decontaminating employee properties and vehicles, taking over operations from the company in 2014, and completing time-critical removal work through August 2022, which included removing lead from a nearby cattle pasture. A remedial investigation and feasibility study finished in 2023. EPA announced its final cleanup plan in March 2024. That plan calls for excavating contaminated soil, treating it through solidification and stabilization, and placing it in an engineered disposal unit on the property. For groundwater, the plan relies on monitoring and institutional controls, such as restrictions on well installation and new construction, until drinking water standards are met.
Remedial design work began in May 2024 and runs through early 2026. Full cleanup construction is expected to start between May and July 2026 and finish between March and May 2027. Currently, human exposure at the site is considered under control, but groundwater migration has not yet been confirmed as stable due to limited data. Physical construction is not complete, and cleanup goals for current and future land uses have not yet been fully met.
Community members can stay informed through EPA's Community Involvement Coordinator, Lilliana Aleman Roman, who provides updates in both English and Spanish. Site documents are available at the EPA Record Center in New York, the EPA office in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, and Arecibo City Hall. The Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources is also involved in overseeing cleanup at the site.
