By Andrew Herrara
The Bergen Record’s
recent exposĂ©, “Toxic Secrets,” has turned the heads of many readers who might
not have been familiar with the ongoing groundwater contamination issue in
Pompton Lakes, New Jersey. But the Record
is not the only entity trying to shed light on a problem that has been plaguing
residents for decades. A class of seniors at Ramapo College of New Jersey are
also researching the issue, as a service to clients from Pompton Lakes who want
to see a thorough environmental assessment of the contamination under their
community.
Between 1902 and 1994, the DuPont corporation operated a
munitions factory in Pompton Lakes, which caused multiple kinds of
contamination. Lead and mercury from the manufacturing process washed into the
local Acid Brook, which feeds into Pompton Lake, once a popular spot for
recreational activities. DuPont cleaned up the Brook in the 1990s, but DuPont did not disclose to residents the full extent of pollution of groundwater beneath a 400-home area, a hidden seepage of chemicals that became known as the Plume.
In unlined ponds on the company’s property uphill from
the residential area, workers detonated malfunctioning artillery and
explosives. Chemical solvents from those munitions, PCE and TCE, seeped
groundwater. As that contaminated water evaporated, it infiltrated the
basements of the homes in the Plume. Many of the residents of those homes above
the polluted areas have been afflicted with rare cancers and other diseases.
Although the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection informed DuPont
about the vapor problem in 2001, DuPont nor the DEP did not warn residents
until 2008, after many homeowners had signed agreements that prevented them
from suing DuPont for any other damages.
With “Toxic Secrets” alerting North Jersey to the
problem, the public will hopefully stay tuned to the publication of the Ramapo
students’ environmental assessment of the contamination and cleanup. That
document will contain pertinent information on the similarities between the
Pompton Lakes issue and the controversy of Ford’s massive dumping of
contaminated paint sludge in Ringwood near the homes of Ramapough Lenape community members.
As part of their research, the students recently met with
homeowners in the Plume neighborhood in Pompton Lakes. DuPont was required to
provide vapor mitigation systems to homeowners after the revelation came out in
2008, so the students met with people in the Plume area to get
their perspective. What they learned was troubling. A local community group had
to get the help of their district’s Congress member and both of the state’s
Senators in order to persuade DuPont to allow affected residents to hire a
contractor other than DuPont’s to install and maintain their vapor mitigation
system.
Unfortunately, it seems as though funding for the maintenance of the vapor mitigation system, which was supposed to be provided by DuPont, is not coming in, residents said. One resident’s system readings seemed to be off, which may indicate other problems. Other residents chose not to wait for the long process of securing the right to choose a contractor, and accepted DuPont’s preferred firm.
Unfortunately, it seems as though funding for the maintenance of the vapor mitigation system, which was supposed to be provided by DuPont, is not coming in, residents said. One resident’s system readings seemed to be off, which may indicate other problems. Other residents chose not to wait for the long process of securing the right to choose a contractor, and accepted DuPont’s preferred firm.
The contamination of Pompton Lake and the groundwater in the area may hold
deeper implications for the health of the Wanaque Reservoir, which gets some of
its water supply from Pompton Lake. The Wanaque Reservoir system provides drinking
water for much of North Jersey. This is an issue that will be raised in the
Ramapo students’ final report.
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