Mayor is among those with questions about the proposed settlement

By TED GOLDBERG, NJ Spotlight News

A deal to clean up one of the nation’s most notorious Superfund sites, located in Toms River, is drawing blowback from environmental watchers and residents who say their family’s health was harmed. But the state Department of Environmental Protection is moving forward with a cleanup settlement at the former Ciba-Geigy plant, which illegally dumped chemicals throughout its operation and allegedly caused a child cancer cluster.

Under a settlement proposal with the DEP, most of the site would be turned into a protected park, and BASF, the successor company to Ciba-Geigy, would pay $100,000.

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“$100,000. Let me tell you something, that could be spent within a week in a child’s treatment,” said Linda Gillick, who blames Ciba-Geigy for her son’s cancer diagnosis.

Toms River Mayor Mo Hill is uneasy about the proposal. “It’s not clearly explained who’s going to be controlling and paying for the upkeep of the environmental center and the property itself,” Hill said. “They have a ten-year commitment, but what happens after that ten years? We don’t feel it’s fair for the town of Toms River to have to pay for this after the damage was done.”

DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette emphasized that the settlement is to address environmental damage, not health problems.

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