Uranium processing

The Middlesex Sampling Plant on Mountain Avenue in Middlesex, New Jersey

Middlesex, New Jersey

Middlesex is a Borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 13,635.Middlesex was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on April 9, 1913, from portions of Piscataway Township, based on the results...

, is a 9.6 acre (38,800 m²) site which was initially used to stockpile weapons-grade

Weapons-grade

A weapons-grade substance is one that is pure enough to be used to make a weapon or has properties that make it suitable for weapons use. Weapons-grade plutonium and uranium are the most common examples, but it may also be used to refer to chemical and biological weapons...

 uranium ore. From 1943 to 1955, under the direction of the Manhattan Project

Manhattan Project

The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...

 and its successor agency, the United States Atomic Energy Commission

United States Atomic Energy Commission

The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...

 (AEC), it was used to crush, dry, screen, weigh, assay, store, package, and ship uranium ore, along with thorium

Thorium

Thorium is a natural radioactive chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. It was discovered in 1828 and named after Thor, the Norse god of thunder....

 and beryllium

Beryllium

Beryllium is the chemical element with the symbol Be and atomic number 4. It is a divalent element which occurs naturally only in combination with other elements in minerals. Notable gemstones which contain beryllium include beryl and chrysoberyl...

 ores, for the development of the atomic bomb.

Contamination

It was later discovered that radioactive waste

Radioactive waste

Radioactive wastes are wastes that contain radioactive material. Radioactive wastes are usually by-products of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear fission or nuclear technology, such as research and medicine...

 had been disposed of a half mile away at the Middlesex Municipal Landfill

Landfill

A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...

. The site was used from 1955 to 1967 for the sampling and storage of thorium residues, and was decontaminated, certified, and released for unrestricted use in 1967. During the decontamination process, radioactive materials were carried away by wind and rain to the yards of nearby residents.

The facility was used by the United States Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 as a reserve training center from 1969 until 1979 when the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) took over and cleaned up the residential properties. Excavated soil was stored at the site in a specially constructed pile, known as the Vicinity Properties (VP) pile. The United States Army Corps of Engineers

United States Army Corps of Engineers

The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...

 (USACE) disposed of 33000 cubic yards (25,230.3 m³) of contaminated soil from the Middlesex Municipal Landfill pile in 1998 and 35000 cubic yards (26,759.4 m³) from the VP pile in 1999.

As of 2007, the USACE is doing ground water testing and has proposed a remedial action plan with the United States Environmental Protection Agency‎ and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is a government agency in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is responsible for managing the state's natural resources and addressing issues related to pollution...

. Closure of the site is pending, and long-term surveillance and maintenance requirements will be determined once final site conditions are known.