The FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center is an

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...

research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...

, and test and evaluation facility. The Technical Center serves as the national scientific test base for the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

. Technical Center programs include research and development, test and evaluation, and verification and validation in air traffic control, communications, navigation, airports, aircraft safety, and security. They also include long-range development of aviation systems and concepts, development of new air traffic control equipment and software, and modification of existing systems and procedures. Through a series of initiatives known collectively as NextGen, the Technical Center is contributing to the

Next Generation Air Transportation System The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) is an ongoing United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) project to modernize the National Airspace System (NAS). The FAA began work on NextGen improvements in 2007 and plans to finis ...

. Located northwest of

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

in the Pomona section of Galloway Township, and covering over , the Technical Center consists of laboratories, test facilities, support facilities, the

Atlantic City International Airport Atlantic City International Airport is a shared civil-military airport northwest of Atlantic City, New Jersey, in Egg Harbor Township, the Pomona section of Galloway Township and in Hamilton Township. The airport is accessible via Exit 9 on ...

, and a non-commercial aircraft hangar. The Technical Center is also home to the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

, the

Federal Air Marshal Service The Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the supervision of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Because of the natur ...

Training Center, Transportation Security Lab, and the

Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City is a United States Coast Guard Air Station located 9 miles northwest of Atlantic City at the Atlantic City International Airport in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. It is the northernmost, largest air station ...

, as well as the

New Jersey Air National Guard The New Jersey Air National Guard (NJ ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of New Jersey, United States of America. It is, along with the New Jersey Army National Guard, an element of the New Jersey National Guard. As state militia units, the ...

177th Fighter Wing. While the Technical Center works mainly in aviation, it also provides other services for the Department of Homeland Security. The Technical Center site's soil and groundwater were contaminated with pollutants including

mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

perfluorinated compound A perfluorinated compound (PFC) or perfluoro compound is an organofluorine compound containing only carbon-fluorines and C−C bonds, as well as potentially heteroatoms. Perfluorinated compounds have properties that result from the presence of flu ...

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but ...

benzene Benzene is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar ring with one hydrogen atom attached to each. Because it contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms, ...

cadmium Cadmium is a chemical element with the symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12, zinc and mercury. Like zinc, it demonstrates oxidation state +2 in most of ...

chloroform Chloroform, or trichloromethane, is an organic compound with chemical formula, formula Carbon, CHydrogen, HChlorine, Cl3 and a common organic solvent. It is a colorless, strong-smelling, dense liquid produced on a large scale as a precursor to ...

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

toluene Toluene (), also known as toluol (), is a substituted aromatic hydrocarbon. It is a colorless, water-insoluble liquid with the smell associated with paint thinners. It is a mono-substituted benzene derivative, consisting of a methyl group (CH3) at ...

, and numerous other toxic or environmentally harmful chemicals by US Navy, airport, and FAA operations from the 1940s to the 1970s. The Technical Center is now a

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...

site, where the FAA and

EPA The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

are engaged in cleaning up the pollution and preventing it from spreading outside the site.

History

The Technical Center was established in 1958 as the

National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center The National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center (NAFEC) was founded July 1, 1958, by the Airways Modernization Board (AMB) and located in Galloway Township, New Jersey, near Atlantic City, New Jersey. On November 1, 1959, after passage of the ...

(NAFEC). It was renamed the FAA Technical Center in 1980, and in 1996 was given its current name in honor of Ambassador/Congressman

William J. Hughes William John Hughes (October 17, 1932 – October 30, 2019) was an American politician and diplomat who served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1975 to 1995, representing New Jersey's Second Congressional Distri ...

References

External links

Official website

EPA page on the Superfund site

2019 Five-Year Review of the Superfund site
by the

. . 1958 establishments in New Jersey Buildings and structures in Atlantic County, New Jersey Federal Aviation Administration Galloway Township, New Jersey Superfund sites in New Jersey United States Coast Guard Air Stations {{NewJersey-struct-stub