1542 SOUTH BROADWAY
The 2.5-acre Martin Aaron, Inc. site is located at 1542 South Broadway in a mixed residential and industrial section of Camden, New Jersey. Various companies, including Martin Aaron, Inc., recycled drums at the site for approximately 30 years, ending in 1998. The above-ground portions of the former Martin Aaron building were demolished by the City of Camden in 1998. One large former process building remains on the property. Several of the businesses that worked at the site also used a nearby facility, 1535 South Broadway, for storage and handling of drums, and this property is also an area of concern. Various steel drum reconditioning operations were performed on the property. “Empty†drums were turned upside down and allowed to drain into tanks, after which the drums were pressure-washed, steam-rinsed and dried, sand-blasted, inspected for integrity, and repainted. The residues from drum contents, rinsate, and steam blow-down were drained from tanks and floor drains into skimming basins. Sludge was skimmed from the basins for off-site disposal, and the acidic water was neutralized and reused in the plant. The process also generated baghouse dust (from sand-blasting) and spray paint wastes. Numerous violations of environmental statutes were issued by EPA and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to operators at the property, the earliest dating from 1971, primarily related to illegal discharges and inappropriate storage of drums. Anonymous reports indicated that drums and other containerized waste were buried on the property. The skimming basins were allegedly designed to discharge excess wastewater, after pH adjustment, to the combined sanitary/storm sewer system; however, it is suspected that some of the effluent discharged directly to the subsurface. Numerous above-ground and underground storage tanks were associated with the operations, and the majority of the vacant land has been used for drum storage. The properties are fenced to limit trespassing. Residents in the area use a municipal water supply; the nearest Camden City well is approximately 1.75 miles east of the site. Site Responsibility: The site is being addressed through Federal and state actions
20,310 |
People living within a 1 mile radius |
$31,056 |
Average Income |
6,662 |
Occupied homes |
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