In an editorial today, The
Record ripped the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the latest in a
series of public relations embarrassments related to withheld or delayed public
notice of contamination findings at a Superfund site in Ringwood, NJ.
Record ripped the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the latest in a
series of public relations embarrassments related to withheld or delayed public
notice of contamination findings at a Superfund site in Ringwood, NJ.
On February 22, Record reporter Scott Fallon disclosed that:
A chemical that is likely to cause cancer has been discovered at almost 100
times the state standard in the groundwater of the Superfund site in Ringwood
where Ford Motor Co. dumped tons of toxic paint sludge decades ago.
times the state standard in the groundwater of the Superfund site in Ringwood
where Ford Motor Co. dumped tons of toxic paint sludge decades ago.
The chemical — 1,4-dioxane — had not been identified before at the highly
polluted site. It was found deep under the Peters Mine area by engineers for
Ford, according to documents obtained by The Record.
Its discovery is one of the reasons more test wells are being dug this month to
assess whether that chemical or others are migrating from the site, which sits
above the Wanaque Reservoir, a drinking source for 3 million people.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials, who are overseeing the work,
didn’t mention the chemical when asked about the new test wells two weeks ago.
They said the wells were to be drilled to “assess benzene contamination” — one
of the more widely found pollutants at the site — along with other chemicals
that the agency didn’t name.
A spokesman said at the time the EPA team assigned to Ringwood would share
specific information at a public meeting scheduled for March 1.
From
today’s editorial:
WHEN IT
comes to the Ringwood Superfund site and the federal response to what has been
a decades-long environmental nightmare for local residents, trust has been all
but eroded. This week those residents were once more forced to wrap their heads
around an instance where they were misled, or not given relevant information in
a timely manner, about toxic chemicals in their midst.
comes to the Ringwood Superfund site and the federal response to what has been
a decades-long environmental nightmare for local residents, trust has been all
but eroded. This week those residents were once more forced to wrap their heads
around an instance where they were misled, or not given relevant information in
a timely manner, about toxic chemicals in their midst.
As Staff Writer Scott Fallon reported, environmental regulators
knew three months ago that a chemical that likely causes cancer was found for
the first time at the Superfund site. The chemical — 1,4-dioxane — was
discovered in late November at almost 100 times the state standard in the
groundwater of the Superfund site where Ford Motor Co. dumped tons of toxic
paint sludge decades ago.
knew three months ago that a chemical that likely causes cancer was found for
the first time at the Superfund site. The chemical — 1,4-dioxane — was
discovered in late November at almost 100 times the state standard in the
groundwater of the Superfund site where Ford Motor Co. dumped tons of toxic
paint sludge decades ago.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency “should have
called an emergency meeting,” said Vincent Mann, chief of the Ramapough
Turtle Clan, a Native American tribe that has made the mountain its home for at
least 200 years. “I keep saying it over and over and over again, they are
leaving the human element out of the management of this site.”
called an emergency meeting,” said Vincent Mann, chief of the Ramapough
Turtle Clan, a Native American tribe that has made the mountain its home for at
least 200 years. “I keep saying it over and over and over again, they are
leaving the human element out of the management of this site.”
EPA officials elected not to inform residents
of the finding immediately, they said, because they do not consider the amount
of the toxic solvent discovered to be an imminent health threat. Even if you
take that explanation at face value, federal officials might have considered
total transparency to be good policy, considering that the people who live in
and around Upper Ringwood have been dealing with this contamination crisis for
50 years, and have been misled many times before.
of the finding immediately, they said, because they do not consider the amount
of the toxic solvent discovered to be an imminent health threat. Even if you
take that explanation at face value, federal officials might have considered
total transparency to be good policy, considering that the people who live in
and around Upper Ringwood have been dealing with this contamination crisis for
50 years, and have been misled many times before.
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