Thomas Edison National Historical Park is located in West Orange, New Jersey, and encompasses two sites – the Laboratory Complex and the Glenmont Estate, former home to Thomas and Mina Edison. For 44 years, from 1887 to 1931, the site served as the inventor’s research and development center. With his team of scientists and technicians, Edison earned 1,093 U.S. patents in his lifetime, most for inventions that originated in the West Orange labs. The National Park Service retained RENOVA to compile a current inventory of chemicals and identify those that pose a hazard to staff and visitors based on their contents and make recommendations for disposal and storage options, and included surveying four locations at the Site where chemicals are stored.

A professional chemical inventory was last conducted at the Site circa 1980. There are more than 1,600 historic bottles which hold chemicals in the museum collection. In addition to the chemical inventory, the scope of work included area and personal air monitoring for asbestos, mercury, and volatile organic compounds with recommendations for further action provided in a final project report.

The tasks completed by RENOVA included:
• Site-specific Health & Safety Plan
• Project Work Plan including Guidelines for Handling Containers and Museum Objects
• Survey Historic Chemical Collection
• Historic Chemicals Sampling Analysis and Report
• Historic Chemical Disposal