1.1.1 Incident Category
Emergency Removal Action

1.1.2 Site Description
Barth Smelting Corp. operated on Block 2442, Lots 10, 11, 12 from at least 1946 until approximately 1982, and produced brass and bronze ingots and also worked with non-ferrous metals. Prior operators include General Lead Batteries, a manufacturer of lead acid batteries, and the New Jersey Zinc Company, a former zinc smelter. Barth was listed as an unrecognized Battery Lead Smelter site with a paper titled “Discovering Unrecognized Lead Smelting Sites by Historical Methods” written by William Eckel et al, and published in the American Journal of Public Health, April 2001, however, several resources exist labeling Barth Smelting as a secondary copper smelting facility.

The New Jersey Zinc and Iron Company, also known as the Newark Zinc Works, formerly operated on the property now occupied by the Newark Housing Authority’s Terrell Homes. The Zinc Works was one of the first commercial zinc oxide plants in the United States and operated on this location from 1848 to 1910. In 1946, the Millard E. Terrell Homes, a family development with 275 units, was constructed on the property formerly occupied by the New Jersey Zinc and Iron Company.

A small recreational playground utilized by the Terrell Homes residents is located immediately adjacent the former Barth Smelting facility on the northeastern portion of the Terrell Homes adjacent a concrete wall seated on the property line.  Soil samples were collected from the playground area of the Terrell Homes on December 3 - 4, 2012. Elevated levels of lead were found to be present in the surface soils (0-2' depth interval) of the playground and the residential properties.

1.1.2.1 Location
The Terrell Homes are located in a mixed residential/industrial neighborhood within the Ironbound Section of Newark, Essex County, New Jersey. The property was formerly home to the New Jersey Zinc and Iron Company from 1848 to 1910. The property is bounded to the west by the Passaic River and the Essex County Riverfront Park, to the east by Chapel Street, to the north by the former Barth Smelting Corp. property, and to the west by a large commercial property.

1.1.2.2 Description of Threat

Lead concentrations have been detected exceeding the EPA residential soil screening level of 400 mg/kg within the top one inch of soil within the playground area at the Terrell Homes. The highest concentration of lead contamination in the top one inch of soil in the playground is 6,030 mg/kg. 

Direct contact with the elevated levels of lead within the top one inch of soil may occur through common outdoor activities that occur in the play area, or by tracking lead contaminated dirt inside the home. Contact with the lead contaminated soils may present a health risk to residents, particularly young children.

The effects of exposure to lead are the same whether it enters the body through breathing or swallowing. The main target for lead toxicity is the nervous system, both in adults and children. Long-term exposure of adults to lead has resulted in decreased performance in some tests that measure functions of the nervous system. Lead exposure may also cause weakness in fingers, wrists, or ankles. Lead exposure also causes small increases in blood pressure, particularly in middle-aged and older people, and may also cause anemia. 

Lead is a cumulative poison where increasing amounts can build up in the body eventually reaching a point where symptoms and disability occur. Particularly sensitive populations are women of child-bearing age, due to the fetal transfer of lead, and children. Cognitive deficits are associated with fetal and childhood exposure to lead.  An increase in blood pressure is the most sensitive adverse health effect from lead exposure in adults. Effects on the kidney, nervous system and heme-forming elements are associated with increasing blood lead concentrations, both in children and adults. Other symptoms include: decreased physical fitness, fatigue, sleep disturbance, aching bones, abdominal pains, and decreased appetite.   

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has determined that lead and lead compounds are reasonably anticipated to be human carcinogens based on limited evidence from studies in humans and sufficient evidence from animal studies, and the EPA has determined that lead is a probable human carcinogen.

1.1.3 Preliminary Removal Assessment/Removal Site Inspection Results

Twenty-two soil borings were installed in the playground area at the Terrell Homes on December 3 - 4, 2012.  Each soil boring was completed to a depth of two feet or refusal. Soil samples were collected from each boring at the following depth intervals: 0 to 1 inches, 1 to 6 inches, 6 to 12 inches, 12 to 18 inches and 18 to 24 inches bgs. All soil samples were submitted for laboratory analysis for Target Analyte List (TAL) Metals plus tin and mercury.

Elevated levels of lead are present in the top two feet of soils within the playground at concentrations exceeding the EPA residential soil screening level of 400 mg/kg.  The average concentration of lead in the soils at the one inch depth is 1,127 mg/kg. Lead concentrations within the playground ranged from 103 mg/kg to 8,920 mg/kg, with the highest lead concentration detected in the 12-18” bgs depth interval located in the western grassy area behind the dumpsters. Lead was detected in the 0-1” bgs depth interval as high as 6,030 mg/kg within the eastern playground area in a patch of bare soil.