NJ: DEP admits lax chromium oversight

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DEP admits lax chromium oversight

But agency is unlikely to order new cleanups in Hudson, Essex

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

BY ALEXANDER LANE

Star-Ledger Staff

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-19/1103696069122440.xml

The state Department of Environmental Protection acknowledged yesterday

that it may have let three corporations leave behind unsafe levels of

deadly chromium at scores of sites in Hudson and Essex counties.

A committee of 24 DEP scientists conducting an internal review found

that for years the department had let the companies use tests that

undercounted chromium waste, according to the scientists' draft report

released yesterday.

<http://filtergate.com/fi.html>

Furthermore, DEP site managers approved loose cleanup standards for many

sites -- saving the companies millions of dollars -- for which the

review committee could find no good scientific basis.

" Each case manager had his way of doing it, and it was very informal, "

said Eileen , director of the DEP's Division of Science, Research

and Technology and supervisor of the review. " That was a major flaw on

the department's part. "

DEP Commissioner Bradley said complaints by Jersey City

activists prompted the review, which came after a Star-Ledger report in

March detailed many of the same problems the scientific committee found.

The DEP will not likely force the companies to redo completed cleanups,

said. And the committee recommended that despite lingering

questions about chromium's toxicity, the basic cleanup standards should

not be changed for now.

Activists attacked both of those decisions. The Interfaith Community

Organization, a Jersey City group that has pushed for better chromium

cleanups for years, said its initial reaction was that DEP's conclusions

were " carefully crafted to preserve the status quo. "

" Even where it recognizes gaps in the science or legitimate concerns, "

said Joe of Interfaith, " it recommends punting and maintaining

the status quo instead of protecting the public health. "

Hudson County's 189 chromium dump sites constitute one of the nation's

most vexing toxic waste problems. They were left behind by three large

corporations that refined chromium ore in the region for decades to make

paint pigments, bumper plating and other products.

Hexavalent chromium, one of several forms, causes cancer and numerous

respiratory problems if inhaled and skin rashes on direct contact.

Workers in the chromium plants were left with rotting nostrils and

yellowed bones from breathing in the substance; the concentrations at

which it is toxic in the wider environment are disputed.

Millions of tons of waste laced with deadly hexavalent chromium sit in

Kearny, Newark, Secaucus and especially Jersey City, near schools, under

" Gold Coast " condo developments, alongside rivers, and on ultra-valuable

real estate such as the site of the future Liberty National championship

golf course.

stressed that the report by the committee -- called the New

Jersey Chromium Workgroup -- would be sent out to eight external peer

reviewers. Their suggestions, expected as early as mid-January, could

change the department's approach, said.

" We're by no means done with respect to chrome, " said. " This is

just the first stage of the process. "

The reviewers found DEP case managers approved site-specific cleanup

standards -- the sort used at most cleanups -- that were not based on

consistent scientific models. From now on, said, teams of three

case managers will approve site-specific standards.

The state also was allowing the companies to use a method of testing for

chromium that was not certified by the EPA, the committee found.

" It was underestimating the amount of hexavalent chromium in the

sample, " said. From now on, the companies will be required to use

an EPA-certified method, she said.

Important questions about chromium's toxicity remain unanswered, the

scientists found. Some literature suggests it may cause cancer by

ingestion, and invade the air in homes by seeping through basement walls

in deadly, invisible concentrations, for example. But there were not

enough data to strengthen regulations based on such suspicions,

said.

Interfaith argued that when in doubt, the DEP should opt for the most

precautionary, protective measures possible.

The department will track future research carefully, and may even fund

it, said. She said the scientists had found problems with much of

the research funded by the three companies -- Honeywell, Tierra

Solutions and PPG Industries.

" They would do some statistical analyses and report part of the

statistics, " said. " They would only report the part that was

favorable to them, and they would leave out the rest. "

The Star-Ledger report in March detailed a lavishly funded, multi-decade

effort by the companies and others around the world -- which worked

together, calling themselves the Chrome Coalition -- to seed the

scientific literature on chromium with information downplaying its

toxicity.

The DEP is making certain that the eight peer reviewers chosen to review

the scientists' report do not have conflicts of interest, said.

Mark Robson, associate professor and director of the Division of

Environmental and Occupational Health at the University of Medicine and

Dentistry, will oversee the peer review, said.

Spokesmen for Honeywell, Tierra Solutions and PPG Industries said the

companies were still reviewing the report and had no immediate comment

on it.

Lane covers the environment. He can be reached at

alane@... or (973) 392-1790

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