1. Emily Giarratano
8/6/2015
Environmental and Occupational Health
The American Cyanamid Superfund Site post Hurricane Irene 2011
The American Cyanamid Superfund site has been under scrutiny since 1983. In 1915 the facility has changed
ownership multiple times from Calco Corporation (a rubber manufacturer) American Cyanamid, American
Home Products,Wyeth Holding Corporation, and as of recently, the lot is owned by Pfizer Inc. The site is
located above the New Brunswick aquifer which is New Jersey’s second largest source for drinking water and
next to the Raritan River. In 1998, EPA took off 140 acres of the site from the Superfund list and it became
stores, recreationalsites and parking lots. This was later put to a halt in 2000 and all commercial sites were
removed. The volatiles being originally dumped such as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) cyanide,
polychlorinated biphenols (PCBs) and metals. This seeped into the ground waters and aquifers below the site.
In addition to the sixteen units that contained hazardous waste were on site as well. A ground water
containment site had been put up to keep in the material and from leeching offsite by pumping 650,000 gallons
of water a ay and shipping off the water to near by sewage treatment plants. As of currently, due to potential
contamination of sewage water,the federalNaturalresource Damage program has started to evaluate the
Raritan River. As of September 2011, the Superfund site was contaminated/ flooded due to extensive rainfall
from Hurricane Irene. The flood made the water containment system deemed un-useful and this caused tar
materials to overflow out of the system.
Event & Contaminant Properties
 The Substance was the cause of a contamination prior to Hurricane Irene in 2011, The American
Cyanamid site has been apart of the Superfund site since 1983.
 The population of New Brunswick (Bridgewater area) was 55,181 in 2010. This was just one year
before the Hurricane hit in 2011 (Census).
 The fear if this spill was that the tar like substances would seep into the Brunswick Public water.
 It was found that 20ppm of Benzene was found in the aquifer of the Brunswick which is the second
largest aquifer in New Jersey.
 Benzene is an industrial chemical used as a solvent in inks, rubbers, lacquers, etc (Green).
 Benzene is a clear, colorless to light yellow, volatile and flammable liquid that has an aromatic odor.
 It is slightly soluble in water,is sensitive to heat and mixes easily with alcohol, ether, chloroform,
acetone,carbon tetrachloride, carbon disulfide, oils and glacials acetic acid.
 “The carcinogenic and myelotoxic effects of benzene are associated with free radical formation…
Benzene oxide and phenol have been considered proheptons. It produces degenerative intercellular
change”(Verma).
Human and Animal Health
 The routes of exposure for benzene is inhalation, skin contact,and oral ingestion. For this particular
event, it would have been ingestion of the contaminated water or the affected wildlife. (Green).
 A chronic symptom of Benzene is anemia, lymphocytopernia (found in peripheral blood), reduced
marrow, splenic cellularities, and decreased numbers of granulocytes and hormoblasts in marrow.
(Baarson)
 Mainly chronic cancers of the blood and blood forming organs such as acute myelogenous,
monocytic, erthroblastic, and lymphocytic leukemia’s, lymphomas and zymbal gland carcinomas
(Green).
 The contaminant is a known carcinogen
 The contaminant targets organs via the liver, kidneys, lung, heart and brain. Metabolized mainly in
the liver due to Cytochrome P. (Verma)
 Benzene is an established Leukemogen at high exposure levels.
 Although low-level benzene exposure is widespread and may induce oxidative damage, no
mechanistic biomarkers are available to detect biological dysfunction at low doses. Blood MTDNA
was increased in persons exposed to low benzene levels potentially reflecting mitochondrial DNA
damage and dysfunction (Carugno).

2.  One of the first toxicology studies on animals using Benzene was using male mice. The male mice
were given 330 ppm of benzene in which they inhaled for six hours a day and for five days a week.
 In addition, they were given five to fifteen percent of ethanol in drinking water four days a week.
 The conclusion of this study was that they found that the number and types of certain blood cells have
reduced in the mice’s peripheral blood, marrow and spleen. This was shown to be irregular.
 WHO found that the chemical Benzene is fetotoxic in mice and rabbits following maternal exposure
by inhalation, causing a reduction in birth weight.2 It is not, however, teratogenic in experimental
animals, even at maternally toxic doses (EXPOSURE TO BENZENE).
 According to the CDC, acute inhalation exposure to Benzene can lead to drowsiness, rapid or
irregular heartbeat,headaches,tremors, confusion, unconsciousness, or sometimes death
 Those who have acute ingestion of benzene may experience vomiting, irritation of the stomach,
dizziness, sleepiness, convulsions and sometimes death.
 It does effect the birth weight and ovary size in women if they come in contact while pregnant or of
bearing age
 Those who work with processing petroleum products, coking of coal, production of toluene, xylene
and other aromatic compounds and use in industrial and consumer products and gas with heating oils
can come into constant contact with benzene on a regular work basis.
Environmental Health
 The mediums in which Benzene travels through is water and soil.
 The medium that was most in question was the drinking water that this superfund site was sitting on
top of. In the article pertaining to the Superfund site it was claimed “that material and a thin layer of
soil where it was found will be excavated and disposed of in an offsite waste facility”( Star-Ledger).
 Due to Hurricane Irene, Benzene in the form of tar balls escaped due to flooding and passed
parameters
 The degradation of public property (believed to have seeped into the Brunswick Aquifer) also had
seeped into to Raritan River as well.
 This was a specific event pertaining to 2011, but American Cyanamid has been a apart of the
Superfund site since 1983 which had contributed to the bio magnification of the Raritan.
Summary
 The EPA added the American Superfund site to the National priorities list of Superfund sites in 1983.
 It was supervised by the New Jersey Department of Environmental protection
 Pfizer is currently conducting the remedial activities with EPA oversight and DEP providing technical
support
 This contamination could have not been easily prevented due to the unpredictable outcome of the
Hurricane Irene. There were already protective perimeters put in place to make sure the tar did not
leave the area,but due to the flooding, the balls were pushed past the barriers.
Conclusion
EPA and Pfizer collected flood water and surface water samples from the Raritan River in September
2011 for analysis of VOCs,SVOCs,and metals. Pfizer and the EPA collected overflow from the Raritan
River in order to look for VOCS and SVOCS, though they were found in the water; it had no impact on the
toxicity of the Raritan. According to the EPA “Twenty five samples of the standing water were taken and
analyzed for 52 volatile organic compounds, 67 semi-volatile organic compounds and 23 metals. Semi-
volatile organic compounds were not detected. Low levels of chloroform, butanone, chloroethane and acetone
were measured in a few samples. Copper, manganese and zinc were detected in most samples, but not at
levels of concern that would prevent the release of the standing water. Arsenic was detected in five of the 25
samples. EPA and NJDEP do not expect the controlled release of standing water from the facility to have a
negative impact on water quality”(EPA). This concluded the concern over the Benzene leaking into the
aquifer and the Raritan River.

3. Works Cited
Baarson, Keith A., Carroll A. Snyder, James D. Green, Arthur Sellakumar, Bernard D. Goldstein, and
Roy E. Albert. "The Hematotoxic Effects of Inhaled Benzene on Peripheral Blood, Bone Marrow, and Spleen
Cells Are Increased by Ingested Ethanol." Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology 64.3 (1982): 393-404. Web
Carugno, Michele, Angela Cecilia Pesatori, "Increased Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number in Occupations
Associated with Low-Dose Benzene Exposure." Environ Health Perspect Environmental Health
Perspectives 120.2 (2011): 210-15. Ebscohost. Web.
"CRISIS Environmental Group, Bridgewater, NJ." CRISIS Environmental Group, Bridgewater,NJ. N.p., n.d. Web.
04 Aug.2015.
Epa, Us. HURRICANE IRENE RESPONSE UPDATE American Cyanamid September 7, 2011 (n.d.): n. pag. Web.
EXPOSURE TO BENZENE: A MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN (n.d.): n. pag.WHO. World Health Organization.
Web.
"Facts About Benzene." CDC. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Aug.2015.
Goodman, Cynthia L. "Production of Selected Baculoviruses in Newly Established Lepidopteran Cell Lines." In Vitro Cellular&
Developmental Biology.Animal 37.6 (2001): 374-79. Web.
Green, Janet. "Benzene (carcinogen)." Ebscohost.Encyclopedia of Health, Jan. 2015. Web.
<http%3A%2F%2Feds.b.ebscohost.com
Star-Ledger. "Bridgewater Superfund Site Still Underwater following Hurricane Irene; Tar Balls Feared." N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Aug.
2015
<http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/09/bridgewater_superfund_site_sti.html>.
"United States Census Bureau." New Brunswick (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Aug. 2015.
<http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34/3451210.html>.
Verma, Rana. "Biochemical Toxicity of Benzene." Journal Of Environmental Biology / Academy Of Environmental Biology,
India 26 (2005): n. pag.Ebscohost.Web.