Residents press DEP on contaminated parks, historic fill and the US Radium Superfund site
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Summary
Orange officials and residents described contaminated park soils found during renovations; DEP recommended HDSRF and Green Acres remediation paths and said the US Radium Superfund cleanup is in long-term monitoring with the next federal review scheduled for January 2026.
Marty Mays, Orange’s director of public works, said crews discovered contamination in two parks while doing renovations and used a Hazardous Discharge Site Remediation Fund (HDSRF) grant for remediation of one park. He said the city is preparing another application for the second park. Commissioner Sean Lauterred said legacy or historic contamination is common in former industrial corridors and thanked the city for accessing HDSRF and Green Acres resources.
A separate line of questioning concerned the US Radium Corporation site, which residents and a participant identified as a locally notable contamination site. Valora Howell and Jerry Dumas asked whether the park built over that property is safe. The commissioner said the US Radium site is a federal Superfund site now in long-term monitoring; the last long-term review found protectiveness being maintained and the next periodic review by EPA is expected in January 2026. He offered to provide EPA contact information so residents can get site-specific monitoring and health documentation. (Valora Howell; Sean Lauterred)
DEP staff also pointed residents to the Contaminated Sites Explorer (DEP website) to look up cleanup status for specific addresses and to send contact information to environmentaljustice@dep.nj.gov for follow-up. They noted funding sources that support both cleanup and acquisition for open-space conversion, such as Green Acres and state acquisition programs.
