Prior to l970, the company disposed of polyvinyl chloride sludge by burying it in drums. Later in the year, the company removed approximately 4,000 cubic yards of sludge and soil in the rear of the property. In 1983, an engineering firm hired by the company studied ground water and prepared a proposal to decontaminate it. The firm estimated that approximately 20,000 gallons of recoverable organic solvents are floating on the ground water beneath the site.
Additional investigations are underway.
The facility is located in the floodplain of the Rockaway River, a recharge area for the unconsolidated Quaternary Aquifer, which is designated a sole source of drinking water for the Rockaway River Basin area. Dover Township wells and Wharton Borough wells serving 27,000 people are within 3 miles of the plant. Additional field work is expected to start in late summer 1987. The description may change as additional information is gathered on the sources and extent of contamination.