EPA Superfund Site

CORNELL DUBILIER ELECTRONICS INC.

NJ | EPA ID NJD981557879

About this site’s exposure pathways: As of January 2025, the Cornell Dubilier Electronics Inc. site is considered “Current Human Exposure Not Under Control” because the Baseline Human Health Risk Assessment for Bound Brook Operable Unit 4 (OU4) confirms there is a potential for unacceptable cancer risk and non-cancer hazard from exposure to total polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and aroclors in sediment, floodplain soil, fish, and shellfish that is relatively widespread throughout the study area. Residents and recreational users of the Brook can be exposed through direct contact to PCB-contaminated soils and sediments. The planned activities to address this pathway are removal of PCB-contaminated sediment and floodplain soils and the implementation of institutional controls. The OU4 remedy calls for excavation of floodplain soils and Bound Brook sediments containing PCBs over 1 mg/kg with off-site disposal. Several institutional controls are called for in the Record of Decision (ROD) to be implemented at the site, including a fish advisory in the Bound Brook already established by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), a Classification Exception Area (CEA) placed on the site on October 17, 2019 to restrict the installation of new drinking water wells, and a deed notice for the former Cornell-Dubilier property to assure remedy protectiveness. The deed notice or other legal instrument would assure that the land use does not become residential/unrestricted in the future. The remedy requires continued signage in English and Spanish to remind anglers and other recreational users of the Bound Brook corridor of the presence of PCBs in sediments and fish, and the need to take preventative measures, such as catch-and-release, when in the area. EPA is currently implementing the cleanup of PCB-contaminated sediment and flood plain soils in Bound Brook downstream of the former Cornell-Dubilier Electronics facility, as part of OU4 Phase 4. OU4 Phase 4 has been split into several Reaches, and remediation of the first Reach was completed in 2024 and the next 2 Reaches of OU4 Phase 4 are planned to begin in Fall 2025.

EPA currently anticipates that human exposure will be under control by September 2051, when cleanup goals are met, and the Final Closeout Report (FCOR) is complete.

EPA ensures community participation throughout the remedial process by meeting with residents, local government officials, and affected stakeholders, obtaining Consent for Access from landowners before starting remedial actions when possible, issuing public notices and updating fact sheets. A site profile has been established on the EPA website to keep the community informed of recent progress at the site. Additionally, an EPA Community Involvement Coordinator is assigned to the site and can address specific community concerns as they arise.