The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has added the Historic Potteries site in Trenton to the Superfund National Priorities List.
The designation marks a major step toward long-term remediation of widespread lead contamination in the city’s North Ward, where more than 200 residential properties—as well as parks and school grounds—were found to have elevated soil lead levels from 19th- and 20th-century ceramics manufacturing.
“For decades, families in East Trenton have lived with contamination left behind by historic industrial operations,” said EPA Regional Administrator Michael Martucci in a release.
“By adding this site to the National Priorities List, EPA is addressing public health risks and laying the groundwork for community revitalization and economic growth.”
The Historic Potteries site includes areas once occupied by dozens of commercial pottery operations that commonly used lead-based glazes and coatings.
In a statement, Mayor Reed Gusciora welcomed the EPA’s commitment.
“We know the dangers of lead exposure are serious and long-lasting—especially for children, who are most vulnerable to its impacts on health, behavior, and learning,” Gusciora said.
“With federal support, we can accelerate cleanup efforts, pursue accountability from responsible parties, and bring meaningful revitalization to our neighborhoods,” the mayor said.
Lead exposure is particularly harmful to children, causing developmental delays, learning difficulties, and behavioral problems.
While short-term actions—such as soil covers and fencing—have already been implemented at key sites, the Superfund designation will enable the EPA to conduct a full-scale investigation, secure long-term funding, and initiate a comprehensive cleanup plan.
The city’s Department of Health has worked with the EPA, holding public forums, offering voluntary testing and overseeing remediation already completed at two parks and a school.
The Superfund program, created under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980, authorizes the EPA to clean up the most contaminated sites in the country.
Being placed on the National Priorities List allows the EPA to use federal funding for cleanup, while also pursuing potentially responsible parties for reimbursement. Sites are selected based on their potential risk to human health and the environment.
Roughly 1,300 sites nationwide are currently on the list.
“Today’s announcement builds on years of previous work already done at the site by EPA and NJDEP to protect the community,” the EPA said in its release.
Gusciora thanked the EPA and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for their partnership.
“We look forward to continuing our work together to ensure every family in Trenton—especially in our North Ward—can live, learn, and play in a safe and healthy environment,” Gusciora said.
For more information about the Historic Potteries cleanup and the Superfund process, visit epa.gov.
The former Enterprise Pottery Company in the Coalport section of Trenton. (D&R Canal State Park photo.),
