Another Example Of The “Environmental Justice” Magic Wand
Echoes Of Infamous Kiddie Kollege Daycare Disaster
Toxic Site Cleanup Is Exempt From The NJ Environmental Justice Law
My prior post argued that DEP could bury dead bodies on Main Street and issue a press release that called it “environmental justice” and the NJ press would salute and praise them.
I want to follow that post up with another egregious example.
DEP took over 20 YEARS to sample the indoor air of a daycare center located directly across the street from a toxic waste site to find out if toddlers were exposed to toxic chemicals.
Actually, the DEP may not have even sampled indoor air, but merely soil and groundwater for “vapor intrusion” potential. And they probably completely ignored risks from exposure to outdoor air and never sampled children’s blood or notified parents. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.
The toxic waste site in question was NOT cleaned up and the soil and groundwater were contaminated with gasoline and diesel fuel, which contain toxic volatile organic compounds (VOC’s – benzene et al) known to evaporate and pollute the air and cause dangerous subsurface “vapor intrusion” into buildings by migrating underground.
Daycare centers are classified as “sensitive receptors” under DEP toxic site cleanup regulations. Documented risks to “sensitive receptors” trigger “immediate environmental concern” accelerated remedial requirements. (wonks can see this and this)
Under a law passed in response to the infamous “Kiddie Kollege” daycare disaster – where scores of infants and toddlers were exposed to highly toxic mercury at a converted former thermometer factory site and DEP failed to act despite knowing that the site had not been cleaned up – a condition of their licensing requires that Daycare centers conduct environmental analysis – including an assessment of risks of vapor intrusion. (Read P.L. 2007, c.1 AKA the “Kiddie Kollege” law, my demand for investigation, and the Department of Health’s investigation Report) of that scandal.
So, both DEP and the State Daycare center regulators should have been actively and aggressively involved.
Yet almost 20 years later, the DEP has learned NOTHING from that tragedy.
In a press release issued today, DEP openly reveals negligence – it took DEP over 20 years to conduct sampling to determine if children in the daycare center were being exposed to “vapor intrusion. DEP wrote (especially note the chronology):
The gas station is in a residential neighborhood with a day-care center across the street. […]
In 2003, DEP became aware of soil contaminated with gasoline and diesel fuel surrounding the UST. AB Trading and 959-961 Clinton Avenue Associates have disregarded orders from DEP to remediate the hazardous substances and bring the site into compliance with state environmental laws.
In 2019, DEP filed a complaint against the defendants in the Irvington Municipal Court for failure to remediate the contamination. In a July 2019 ACO, the defendants agreed to pay penalties and hire a licensed site remediation professional (LSRP) to remediate the site under direct oversight of the DEP. However, the defendants have failed to do so.
Earlier this year, the DEP was forced to conduct vapor intrusion sampling at the day care after the owner failed to respond to notifications about migration of volatile chemicals from the site. DEP’s sampling confirmed that vapor intrusion is not occurring at the day care center.
DEP has essentially just repeated the Kiddie College daycare disaster.
Repeat: while it took DEP over 3 months to sample the Kiddie Kollege daycare center they knew was located in a contaminated former thermometer factory, it took DEP over 20 YEARS in this case.
If you find that claim incredible, read this NY Times story. I leaked documents to The NY Times that revealed that DEP took over 3 MONTHS to respond:
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection knew in 1994 that a building that later housed a Gloucester County day care center was so dangerous that state inspectors were instructed to use respirators when entering the building, according to an internal memo obtained by The New York Times yesterday.
But the site remained contaminated, and as far as the department knew, unoccupied, until inspectors visited it in April and found that Kiddie Kollege, a day care center serving children as young as 8 months old, was operating in the building. Yet the center, which is in Franklin Township, was allowed to remain open for more than three months, until state environmental investigators determined in late July that the site was still contaminated. […]
The internal memo, dated Oct. 12, 1994, said “Level C at a minimum is required for entry into the building,” meaning respirators were required, said Bill Wolfe, a former department employee who is the director of New Jersey Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a watchdog group that provided a copy of the memo.
Something else very important happened at DEP in 2002, just before the DEP discovered the AB Trading Enterprises and 959- 961 Clinton Avenue Associates, Irvington toxic site in 2003.
I was personally involved in this and have blown the whistle about it many times since 2002. I worked for DEP Commissioner Brad Campbell at the time.
A February 2002 DEP memo warned NJ DEP Commissioner Campbell about statewide significant risks from vapor intrusion and flaws in DEP regulation:
Indoor Air from Contaminated Groundwater
The issue is relatively new as it relates to vapors from dissolved constituent plumes entering homes at above chronic levels. This issue is not an isolated incident (Wall Township) and has become an issue across the country. As more cases of this type surface it may cause the protectiveness of sites with natural attenuation remedies and the protectiveness of the groundwater quality standards to be re-evaluated.
So there it is.
Will any reporters ask DEP what explains a 20 year delay?
Will they ask how the Daycare center received a license to operate without conducting vapor intrusion sampling?
Just what the hell is going on here?