EPA Superfund Site

MATTEO & SONS INC.

NJ | EPA ID NJD011770013

About this site’s exposure pathways: As of January 2025, there is insufficient information to determine the site-wide human exposure control status at the Matteo & Sons, Inc. Superfund Site due to an ongoing remedial investigation at Operable Unit (OU) 3 (OU3), which addresses contaminated surface water, sediments and groundwater. The remedial investigation and feasibility study (RI/FS) for these media will be conducted to determine the nature and extent of contamination. Once the RI is complete, a risk assessment will be prepared to determine the potential impact to human health and the environment from these contamination pathways and a sitewide human exposure determination can be made. The Operable Unit 1 (OU1) portion of the Matteo site is on an approximately 80-acre property containing an active scrap metal recycling facility, a junkyard, and an inactive landfill. Woodbury Creek borders the property to the west, Hessian Run to the north, and a residential trailer park to the south. Sources of contamination on the site include an approximately 224,000-square-foot pile of crushed battery casings, an approximately 260,000-square-foot inactive landfill in the north-central portion of the site, and lead- and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-contaminated soil located throughout the property. The company deposited crushed battery casings directly into Hessian Run and the wetlands adjacent to the property, altering the shoreline and increasing the size of the land mass. Matteo (under New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) oversight), NJDEP and EPA have conducted investigations at the site. EPA sampling in 2005 and 2006 revealed crushed battery casings and lead contamination adjacent to and within the trailer park. Under a May 2006 Administrative Consent Order issued by EPA, Matteo installed a chain-link fence to restrict access to contaminated areas. To facilitate the fence installation, approximately 425 tons of contaminated soil were excavated for off-site disposal.

A Record of Decision (ROD) for OU1 was issued in October 2019 to address contaminated soil on the Matteo property and on the banks of Hessian Run. A removal action was completed in September 2020 to remove contaminated soil at a commercial facility that is part of OU1. The remedial design for OU1 was completed in March 2023 and implementation of the remedy began in fall 2024. Operable Unit 2 (OU2) of the Matteo and Sons, Inc. Superfund site is a residential neighborhood in West Deptford, NJ. Prior to residential development, crushed battery casing waste was used as fill and during construction the waste was distributed throughout the neighborhood. Approximately 25 of the 36 residential properties comprising the neighborhood were impacted with battery casing waste and soil with elevated concentrations of lead, antimony, and PCBs. Battery casing waste and soil impacts were predominantly in the surface and shallow sub-surface soil. A ROD for OU2 was issued in 2017 and a remedial action for excavation of residential properties was completed in 2022.

EPA currently anticipates that there will be sufficient data to make a Human Exposure evaluation by September 2031, when the OU3 ROD is signed.

EPA ensures community participation throughout the remedial process by meeting with residents and affected stakeholders, issuing public notices and providing the public with updated fact sheets. A site profile has been established on the EPA website to keep the community informed of progress at the site. Additionally, an EPA Community Involvement Coordinator is assigned to the site and can address specific community concerns as they arise.