By Thomas Babcock
Much like Ford Motor Co. claimed Ringwood, NJ was clean from their toxins and paint sludge, DuPont claimed 15 years ago that an area they polluted in Pompton Lakes, NJ was also cleaned up. But, according to a report by northjersey.com, as of February 2012 the site along a stream through the town still shows evidence of elevated mercury and lead levels. The US Environmental Protection Agency also reported traces of the solvent PCE, which is directly related to causing cancer.
According to the news story, residents are worried about the EPA’s “eye ball” test, in which they say it’s unlikely the pollution was carried into Pompton Lake.Instead of immediately performing further tests, they merely looked around and deemed the area safe for residents. How trustworthy could they possibly be if they also once said the stream running through town from DuPont's factory site was clean? This is a serious matter where people’s lives are at risk
It’s apparent that changes are never made until serious consequences occur. I feel as if this has the potential to be one of those cases where it’ll take a dozen families to have sudden and bizarre illnesses before anyone acts seriously.
While the article does say the eye ball test was “preliminary” and more tests will be done, I ask at what cost? A decade and a half has passed; who knows how long dangerous PCE solvents have been present in this area.
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