This is where the title of your report goes

by Brandon Van Orden

Site Description

Author Biography

Final Report

Primary Sources

Secondary Sources

Image Analysis

Data Analysis

Oral Interviews

Video Story

Site Description:

The A.O. Polymer Superfund Site was a resin manufacturing and reclamation facility from the 1950s through the 1970s in Sparta, New Jersey. After concerns were raised by local residents in 1980, The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and later the United States Environmental Protection Agency took over the site as volatile organic compounds were leaking into the groundwater due to poor disposal practices. I would like to ask how the site’s location in a rural county influenced the state and federal response compared to sites in urban areas like Newark. The A.O. Polymer Superfund Site is significant because it demonstrates how the historical lack of oversight of industrial waste extends beyond urban centers and into more rural communities.

Author Biography:

I am a former resident of Sussex County, having spent my entire childhood living there. My family moved frequently enough that I never called any sepecific township home, rather identifying as a resident of the county instead. I have a strong conection to the environment of the county having gone through the Boy Scouts program and spending much of my free time within the rural forests and hills. Despite this, I was suprised to learn that a Superfund site existed within the county when I started this project

Final Report:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut diam quam nulla porttitor massa id. Elementum facilisis leo vel fringilla est ullamcorper eget nulla. Orci porta non pulvinar neque laoreet suspendisse interdum. Purus semper eget duis at tellus at urna. Diam maecenas ultricies mi eget mauris. Diam ut venenatis tellus in metus vulputate eu. Ullamcorper morbi tincidunt ornare massa eget egestas. Quis eleifend quam adipiscing vitae proin. Consectetur adipiscing elit pellentesque habitant. Cras fermentum odio eu feugiat pretium nibh ipsum consequat nisl. Lectus mauris ultrices eros in cursus turpis massa. Luctus accumsan tortor posuere ac. Porttitor eget dolor morbi non arcu. Maecenas pharetra convallis posuere morbi leo urna molestie. Neque convallis a cras semper auctor neque vitae. In iaculis nunc sed augue. Suspendisse interdum consectetur libero id faucibus. Sit amet porttitor eget dolor.

Felis eget nunc lobortis mattis aliquam faucibus. At elementum eu facilisis sed odio. Eu facilisis sed odio morbi quis commodo odio aenean sed. Habitasse platea dictumst quisque sagittis purus sit amet. Et ultrices neque ornare aenean euismod elementum nisi quis eleifend. Velit dignissim sodales ut eu sem integer. Morbi tempus iaculis urna id volutpat lacus laoreet non curabitur. Aliquam eleifend mi in nulla posuere sollicitudin aliquam. Nunc congue nisi vitae suscipit. Convallis tellus id interdum velit laoreet id. Turpis in eu mi bibendum neque egestas. Magna fermentum iaculis eu non diam phasellus vestibulum. In cursus turpis massa tincidunt dui ut ornare lectus sit.

Non pulvinar neque laoreet suspendisse. Eros donec ac odio tempor orci. Nullam non nisi est sit amet facilisis magna etiam tempor. Platea dictumst vestibulum rhoncus est pellentesque elit ullamcorper. Eleifend donec pretium vulputate sapien nec sagittis aliquam. Proin fermentum leo vel orci porta. Eget dolor morbi non arcu risus quis varius quam quisque. Nec ultrices dui sapien eget mi proin sed. Nisl nisi scelerisque eu ultrices vitae auctor eu augue. Pellentesque pulvinar pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et. Pulvinar elementum integer enim neque volutpat ac. Vel orci porta non pulvinar neque. Laoreet sit amet cursus sit amet.

Pharetra massa massa ultricies mi quis hendrerit dolor magna. Mattis nunc sed blandit libero volutpat. Nec ultrices dui sapien eget. Gravida neque convallis a cras semper auctor neque. Aenean et tortor at risus viverra adipiscing at. Quisque non tellus orci ac auctor augue mauris. Ultrices in iaculis nunc sed augue lacus. Quam elementum pulvinar etiam non. Felis bibendum ut tristique et egestas. Sagittis nisl rhoncus mattis rhoncus. Ac ut consequat semper viverra. Volutpat commodo sed egestas egestas fringilla phasellus faucibus scelerisque. Urna condimentum mattis pellentesque id nibh tortor. Erat nam at lectus urna duis convallis convallis. Malesuada fames ac turpis egestas sed tempus urna et pharetra. Pellentesque diam volutpat commodo sed egestas egestas. Interdum velit euismod in pellentesque massa placerat duis ultricies lacus. Est velit egestas dui id. Pellentesque id nibh tortor id aliquet lectus proin nibh. Id nibh tortor id aliquet lectus proin nibh nisl.

Primary Sources:

Five-Year Review Report, A.O. Polymer Superfund Site (United States Environmental Protection Agency Region 2, 2003)

https://semspub.epa.gov/work/02/139632.pdf

EPA Region 2 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Site Files

This source serves as a baseline description of the history of the site and the initial cleanup as the EPA describes its own actions from 1991 to September 2003 when the report was published. This timeframe covers most of the active efforts of the EPA to stop and prevent future contamination at the site. By analyzing the three USEPA document, I aim to observe how the reality of the site changed plans

Superfund Record of Decision: A.O. Polymer, NJ (USEPA Office of Emergency and Remedial Response, 1991)

https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPURL.cgi?Dockey=9100OV0P.TXT

EPA Office of Emergency and Remedial Response Document Catalog

This source serves as the initial review of the site by the EPA and their proposed plan to remedy the site. As part of that process, the document contains some information regarding community efforts and concerns related to the site and the proposed cleanup process

Superfund Explanation of Significant Difference for the Record of Decision: A.O. Polymer (USEPA 1996)

https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPURL.cgi?Dockey=9100OTTO.TXT

EPA National Environmental Publications Internet Site

This source is the document recording the reasoning that the EPA’s actions at the site deviated from the initial plans outlined in the Record of Decision in a significant manner.

Public Health Assessment (Addendum) A. O. Polymer (New Jersey Department of Health

Environmental Health Service, 2/27/1996)

https://www.nj.gov/health/ceohs/documents/eohap/haz_sites/sussex/sparta/ao_polymer/aop_add_2_96.pdf

New Jersey Department of Health Consumer, Environmental and Occupational Health Service Digital Public Health Archive

This source focuses on the health concerns regarding the site as described by the NJDoH. This source also contains more information regarding the community’s involvement in the site, giving description of the history of complaints and concerns about the safety of the site

Secondary Sources:

Maher, Neil M. New Jersey’s Environments: Past, Present, and Future. Rutgers University Press, 2006.

This source is a book on the history of New Jersey, specifically its relationship with the environment amid a history of dense development and industrialization. This book provides a general overview of New Jersey’s relationship with the environment, how it has changed over the years, and how its history of environmental problems has forced it to have a well developed policy of environmental protection. New Jersey being the most densely populated state alongside being sandwiched between two of the biggest and most important port cities in the country has led to intense development and industry. This unchecked industrialization has caused severe damage to the local environment across the state, causing it to have the most superfund sites of all states. This history of environmental problems has lead to significant effort put into fixing and preventing these issues within the state as detailed in each of the essays contained in the book

US EPA, OSRTI. “A. O. POLYMER Site Profile.” Overviews and Factsheets. Accessed October 11, 2026. https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.Cleanup&id=0200290#bkground.

This is the site overview by the EPA on the superfund site. This provides a general description of the history of the site. It starts with the background of site, detailing the manufacturing and reclamation plant that was on site and their improper procedures that lead to the contamination. It also contains information on the extent of the contamination and the methods that NJDEP and USEPA used to control and counteract the contamination.

Image Analysis:

Photo caption here

Consequat semper viverra nam libero justo laoreet sit. Ornare massa eget egestas purus viverra accumsan in. Dignissim diam quis enim lobortis scelerisque fermentum dui faucibus in. Curabitur gravida arcu ac tortor dignissim convallis aenean et tortor. Erat nam at lectus urna duis convallis convallis tellus. Risus at ultrices mi tempus imperdiet nulla malesuada pellentesque elit. Turpis egestas maecenas pharetra convallis posuere morbi leo. Nulla facilisi etiam dignissim diam quis enim lobortis. Pellentesque massa placerat duis ultricies. Est ante in nibh mauris cursus. Massa sed elementum tempus egestas sed sed risus. Augue ut lectus arcu bibendum at varius. Neque viverra justo nec ultrices dui sapien eget mi proin. Non diam phasellus vestibulum lorem sed risus ultricies. Venenatis cras sed felis eget velit aliquet sagittis id consectetur. Tristique et egestas quis ipsum suspendisse. Facilisis volutpat est velit egestas dui. Non nisi est sit amet facilisis magna. Scelerisque mauris pellentesque pulvinar pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus. Bibendum at varius vel pharetra vel turpis nunc.

Data Analysis:

The A.O. Polymer Superfund Site is the location of a former resin and polymer manufacturing reclamation facility that operated from the 1960s until 1993. Due to improper waste disposal at the site, including unsealed burial and dumping into an onsite lagoon,volatile organic chemicals leaked into the groundwater. After complaints of orders from well water in adjoining domestic lots, the NJDEP started removal of soil in 1982, with the EPA beginning remediation in 1984. By 2000 much of the site was deemed safe for redevelopment with the rest retained for monitoring post 2020. A half-mile buffer around the initial area defined by the EPA for the site will be used to select a local population. This buffer size was chosen to encompass most of Sparta Township without crossing too far into neighboring jurisdictions. By analyzing the scientific data collected within this buffer, I will argue that the fact that Sparta is predominantly white and middle class played a significant role in the state and national response to the contamination.

The Site as it currently stands is a nonfactor in pollution due to the EPA’s swift and efficient response in the 1990s. Within the buffer, there exists little to note in regards to pollution with nearly all statistics being below the national and state average. Those within the buffer are nearly double the national average in terms of proximity to a superfund site with a 1.9 ratio to the U.S. average. The ratio for superfund proximity to the state average is 0.5, which is expected since New Jersey possesses the highest concentration of superfund sites. The next noteworthy stat is the RMP Proximity stat which measures the proximity of residents to a plant which is required to have a risk management plan because they handle hazardous chemicals. The site has a RMP proximity ratio of 0.8 to national and 1.1 ratio to the state average.

The site buffer is composed of primarily white and middle class residents. 80% of the residents are identified as white 1.3x the national average and 1.5x the state average. The per capita income is $87,070, which is firmly within the national median range of $83,700 to $87,460. Generally the middle class is defined as between two-thirds to double the national median income which this site sits firmly within. The site has a 92% Owner-occupied housing rate, meaning almost all of those living within the buffer live in a house they own. Homeownership is one of the markers of being part of the middle class. Those within the buffer rank slightly below average when it comes to percentages with disabilities, heart disease, asthma, and cancer. The buffer suffers from nearly half the average for low income percentage, 0.4 compared to national and 0.6 to state average. Together these states paint a picture of a healthy white middle class population.

Despite the existence of a superfund less than 30 years ago with enough groundwater contamination to seep into neighboring wells, there is little to no pollution concerns. This site is a success story of the EPA coming in and fixing the issue. The reason this is the case is because the local residents were able to have their voices heard. The type of people with the best ability to have their voices heard are white middle class Americans.

Oral Interviews:

Matthew Trochim · Interview