The presence of elevated levels of Arsenic and Beryllium concentrations in farmland soils in New Jersey has become a serious cause for concern.  Often these elements are found at concentrations above the respective 20 mg/kg and 1 mg/kg NJDEP Residential Direct Contact Soil Criteria.

 

Site soils may contain “naturally occurring” Arsenic derived from the geological strata underlying a site where Arsenic-containing minerals are present.  Alternatively, Arsenic contamination may occur in agricultural  lands where Arsenical Pesticides were applied.  Such artificial contaminants may have variable solubility, bioavailability and associated health risks.

 

Contamination on a particular site may be derived from various internal sources within a site.  In such instances, investigators must collect field data and conduct analytical “fingerprinting” of potential sources.  Such investigations may be used to define background concentrations of certain metals within the soils.  These concentrations are important, inasmuch as the NJDEP bases their Arsenic soil cleanup criteria (20 mg/kg) on background levels or naturally-occurring Arsenic concentrations, rather than on human risk assessments.

 

Recently, scientists and engineers at Najarian Associates were requested by a major residential developer to investigate the source and nature of elevated concentrations of Arsenic (11 - 95 mg/kg) and Beryllium (0.3 - 3.04 mg/kg) on a + 137 acre tract of land in Monmouth County, NJ, for which all the necessary approvals for construction were previously secured.

 

Towards this objective, the following environmental investigations were conducted: (a) comprehensive sampling and analysis at depths ranging from 0 to 25 feet for native-Arsenic and Beryllium; (b) review of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and the World Health Organization  (WHO) toxicity information; (c) review of typical background soil values of Arsenic and Beryllium found in New Jersey soils; (d) site-specific natural background investigation, (e) toxicity characteristic leaching procedure tests; (f) human gastric bioavailability experiment extraction analysis; and (g) X-Ray Diffraction and Computer Controlled Scanning Electron Microscopy mineralogical investigations.  Based on these investigations, there was no indication that the Arsenic and Beryllium found in mineralogical form on this site exceeded the criterion values or exerted a toxic or subchronic effect on  humans.

 

As specified in the NJDEP’s Technical Rules for Site Remediation, Najarian Associates submitted a Preliminary Assessment/Site Remediation report to NJDEP.  The Department responded by issuing a letter of “No Further Action” (NFA) for the proposed residential development within eight (8) weeks, thus enabling the project to proceed in a timely manner, while minimizing the long-term liabilities associated with building in agricultural lands.