EPA outlines long-term cleanup after Trenton pottery sites linked to neighborhood lead contamination

The Environmental Protection Agency told the Trenton City Council on Thursday that historic pottery operations are a major source of lead contamination across East Trenton and outlined a long, staged cleanup process now that the site is on the National Priorities List.

Joel Petty, the EPA remedial project manager for the site, said potteries in Trenton operated from the 1850s into the 1920s and used lead-bearing materials in glazes; when kilns were fired, lead was released into the air and later settled on nearby properties. He said the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection referred the historic pottery sites to EPA, and an attribution study completed in 2023 identified the potteries as a major source of contamination.

Petty said the agency’s removal program has carried out interim measures, installing temporary clean covers and raised garden beds at parks, a school and 43 residential properties in East Trenton to reduce immediate exposure risks. “Removal actions can last days to several years, while remedial actions…