As we focus our attention on the overwhelming oil pollution crisis in the gulf states, we shouldn't forget that New Jersey is still the home to the largest number of toxic waste sites in the U.S.
According to The Star Ledger, the state has received over 3 Billion from the national Superfund in the past 30 years including 150 million from the recent stimulus package. Yet only 29 of the designated 142 hazardous waste sites have been completely cleaned up. Authorities are now predicting another 15 to 25 sites could be added to this list over the next 5 years.
The photo above was taken less than 100 yards from my Bloomfield home four years ago. Not sure if it is still considered a Superfund site since extensive funds were laid out by the former owner, Scientific Glass, to clean it to residential standards. They never quite finished the job, though, and the DEP required that tarps cover up what was left as the real estate developer shelved his townhouse plans due to the economy. Meanwhile, the torn tarps and mounds of polluted soil remain.
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