WBGO | By P. Kenneth Burn
Cleaning up the two-story-high pile of illegally dumped waste at 7th and Chestnut streets in Camden is only the first step to righting a wrong that has plagued the neighborhood for two decades, according to Roy Jones.
“That is just one aspect of what has to happen,” he said.
Now, the environmental justice advocate and executive director of the National Institute of Healthy Human Spaces wants testing of the air and groundwater quality done immediately in the vicinity of the site. He also wants health screenings for residents who live within five blocks.
“They have been breathing in this toxic dust for several years now,” he said. “They need to be tested, and children need to be tested, for lead and mercury and other chemicals.”
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Jones’ call comes as New Jersey’s Acting Attorney General Andrew Bruck and the state Department of Environmental Protection has asked a judge to force the current owners of the property to clean up the solid waste, dust, and debris that has migrated from the site to a neighboring residential property, as well as fix and restore the fence between the site and the property.
The state also wants Weyhill Realty Holdings, which bought the property in 2019, to clean the dust, debris, sediment, and solid waste that has accumulated on the sidewalks, roads, and other public rights of way. It also wants Weyhill to stabilize the growing pile of waste.
New Jersey on Monday amended its lawsuit filed in May against S. Yaffa and Sons, Inc. and the company’s owner William Yocco, which sold the property to Weyhill two years ago.
The state could not say how soon a judge would move on the suit because it is still in the early stages.
State scrutiny of the site dates back to 2002. DEP inspectors also determined that there is a 500-gallon gasoline underground storage tank on the property that was not properly closed off. That poses the risk of the tank’s contents being leaked into the soil and groundwater.
