From the late 1910s to the early 1930s, the former Kil-Tone
Company operated a pesticide manufacturing business at a 3.15-acre property
located at 527 East Chestnut Avenue in Vineland, New Jersey. The pesticide
manufacturing operations released arsenic and lead that contaminated not only
the soil at the facility itself but also at other residential and
non-residential properties in the vicinity of the former pesticide
manufacturing facility, as well as groundwater, sediment, and surface water
downstream from the facility.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, NJDEP, discovered the
presence of arsenic and lead contamination at the site in 2014. As a result, NJDEP
referred the site to EPA for further evaluation. EPA collected soil samples from
residential properties near the site in 2015 and found elevated levels of lead
and arsenic in the soil. EPA later added the site to the National Priorities
List, or NPL, in April 2016.
Between 2016 - 2024, EPA cleaned up 85 residential properties in the vicinity
of the original Kil-Tone property. In 2024, EPA began cleaning up non-residential
or commercial properties. EPA determined it was necessary to acquire the
former Kil-Tone property and relocate the business that had been operating
there, Urban Sign & Crane, Inc., or USC. On behalf of EPA, the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, or USACE, helped EPA acquire the property to clean up the
site, and helped relocate USC. During this process, USACE discovered leaking
drums and evidence that USC or a contractor had improperly discarded paint
related ignitable materials into a non-hazardous solid waste dumpster.
EPA inspected the site on January 22, 2026, and found flammable
and corrosive materials, leaking drums with unknown contents, and improper waste
consolidation. Based on these observations, EPA began an emergency removal
action on January 23, 2026, to properly manage the materials left behind by the
former operator of the facility. EPA contractors placed leaking containers inside
larger overpack drums and unpacked the solid waste dumpster where hazardous
substances were observed. Containers of paint related materials were packed
into outer containers and staged for later evaluation.
EPA and its contractors returned to the site on February 9
and began a more thorough inventory and evaluation of all containers present,
including sampling and characterizing containers. EPA organized the materials
inside the former USC building and sent samples of each waste type offsite for
laboratory analysis to determine appropriate disposal.
EPA expects to
complete arrangements for offsite disposal in May 2026, after receiving test
results.
EPA will address leaking containers and evaluate,
characterize, and dispose of all containers potentially containing hazardous
substances found at the site.
