Ciba Geigy: The Notorious Legacy of NJ’S Largest Superfund Site

historical Background

The site is located in Toms River, New Jersey on approximately 1,350 acres of land. On-site structures include piping associated with the groundwater collection system, the groundwater treatment plant, and office facilities for remediation personnel. Approximately 320 of the 1,350 acres were developed and used for manufacturing operations, waste treatment, disposal activities, and administrative and laboratory facilities. From 1952 to 1990, Ciba-Geigy manufactured dyes, pigments, resins, and epoxy additives.

As a result of the plant’s decades-long use for manufacturing, concern grew regarding the potential contamination of the land and groundwater. In 1983, the site was officially designated as a federal Superfund site, which is a site that has been contaminated by hazardous materials and identified by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a priority for cleanup. EPA remedial investigation of the site began in 1984, and was focused on the following: addressing the contaminated groundwater and removal of approximately 47,000 buried drums to an offsite location . Since remediation efforts began, the toxic “plume” of contaminated groundwater has shrunk in size but has not been fully resolved. Remediation is ongoing under EPA supervision.

In the 1990s, families in adjacent Toms River neighborhoods reported higher-than-normal rates of cancer and eventually linked these illnesses to the industrial pollution of the plant in a class-action lawsuit against the Ciba-Geigy Corporation, Union Carbide Corporation, and the United Water Toms River company. The lawsuit alleged that 35,000 people in the community unknowingly drank water tainted with carcinogens which leached into their water source from the operations at the plant. Tragically, 15 children lost their lives because of this pollution, and the community continues to deal with more instances of cancer that could potentially be linked to the site. The class-action suit was settled when the three defendants paid $13.2 million to 69 families with children diagnosed with cancer; other families declined this settlement.

Want to learn more about the site’s decades-long history? We encourage you to read Dan Fagin’s Pultizer Prize-winning work, Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation.

The December 2022 Settlement Proposal

On December 5, 2022, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced the Natural Resource Damages (NRD) settlement between BASF (the corporate successor to the former Ciba-Geigy) and the DEP for this Superfund site. At that time, the public was given 30 days (or until January 6) to comment. This was scheduled over the holidays, and SBB pushed for time extensions to allow the community more adequate time to review these terms, given the magnitude of the settlement. Our team also found that the DEP did not correctly post notice of the comment period as required by law, which allowed for a second and final extension until April 5.

The proposal calls for a 1,000-acre conservation easement at the site with the current landowner retaining 255 acres for redevelopment. The conserved area would be used for “passive recreation”. The DEP’s full natural resources settlement agreement and December press release can be found on their website. For more information about the site’s history, news coverage, maps, and more, please visit: TinyURL.com/NJCibaGeigy.

Why Save Barnegat Bay is Concerned

While at surface value, the settlement might sound like a promising outcome for the site’s painful lingering history, we are concerned that it does not provide real justice for the Toms River community and our natural resources. No public participation hearings were hosted as part of these settlement discussions until SBB launched a grassroots campaign demanding that the DEP host an official hearing. Additionally, a Natural Resource

Damages Assessment was not released, which contains scientific data about the safety status of the site. Our position is: How could the public submit their informed input on the record without adequate time and information?

We demand a transparent record and opportunities for full engagement of the community. The Ciba site is the biggest Superfund site in the state, and this process deserves due diligence from the DEP, the state agency tasked with stewarding the environment. Now more than ever, we need to come together to demand justice for the community and our natural resources, including: drinking water, the Toms River, Barnegat Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean.

Please consider making a donation to directly support our work in holding those who polluted our natural resources at Ciba-Geigy accountable for the damages. Donate to help with the costs incurred to engage an environmental expert and legal team to ensure justice is achieved for the Ocean County community. Please Visit SaveBarnegatBay.org/Donate or send a check in the mail to 117 Haines Road, Toms River, NJ 08753 made out to “Save Barnegat Bay.” (you can write Ciba in the memo, if you like)