Contributor: Nina Alstrom
Goal Statement
To increase awareness about the impact of hazardous waste on quality of life in a community, and to encourage safe, efficient, and cost-effective methods of contaminated site remediation in the Trenton community, in order to promote sustainable living conditions.
Scope of the Problem
In 2010, New Jersey generated 22 million tons of solid waste and recycled 13.3 million tons—one of the state’s best recycling rates to date.[1] But of the 8.7 million tons not recycled, 2.1 million tons were incinerated in state, and 3.3 million tons were landfilled in state.[2] The burning and landfilling of waste can lead to groundwater pollution, poor air quality, land contamination, and other forms of environmental degradation. New Jersey has struggled with appropriate ways to handle waste, and political and social battles over where to locate and how to pay for waste disposal facilities have been historically contentious. The way the state deals with waste, particularly hazardous waste, must be acknowledged and remedied, as remediation plays a large role in the health and safety of a community such as Trenton.
The New Jersey Known Contaminated Sites (KCS) List includes former factory sites, landfills, locations of current or former leaking underground storage tanks, sites where chemicals or wastes were once routinely discharged, and places where accidents have resulted in spills and pollution.[3] There are 549 known active contaminated sites in Mercer County in need of remediation, and 137 of those are within or on the border of the City of Trenton.[4] Of those 137 sites, 129 of them are classified as C2, C3, or D level.[5] The C2 and C3 levels are associated with multiple site spills, high concentrations of complex and threatening contaminant discharge, and impacts to soils, groundwater, and potentially surface waters and drinking water resources as well.[6] The D level has the same conditions, but these sites are typically designated as Federal “Superfund” sites on the National Priorities List.
The types of contaminants found at these sites vary widely, but one of the most common and harmful sources of contamination is lead. Children can be exposed from eating lead-based paint chips or playing in contaminated soil. In addition to being found at many known contaminated sites, lead can also be found in some water pipes inside homes, or pipes that connect homes to the main water supply pipe. Lead can also be found in the soils at and surrounding former manufacturing facilities.
Lead can damage the nervous system, kidneys, and reproductive systems, and exposure to lead can cause behavior problems and learning disabilities in young children while also leading to negative cardiovascular and renal effects in adults.[7] The EPA has stated that lead poisoning is the top environmental health threat to children.[8] Research done by the New Jersey Department of Health and Isles, Inc. further found that 24 percent of Trenton kindergarteners entered school with lead poisoning in 2011.[9] Over the past 13 years, it is likely that approximately 40 percent of children in Trenton schools had lead levels that were affecting their ability to learn.[10] Children are the future in Trenton, and lead, among other toxins found at contaminated sites, can affect their mental and physical health and growth. Of seven environmental cases for lead presence reported in Trenton in 2014, none were remediated, and six are still listed as in need of investigation.[11] The process can be expensive and time-consuming, among other barriers, but site investigation is a crucial step. But even once investigation is complete, many property owners may not be able to afford the abatement.
And of course, many other toxins other than lead that leak out from contaminated sites. Though the 34 landfills in Mercer County are listed by the state as ‘not open,’ only four of them have been properly closed.[12] The byproducts of both landfilling waste and not properly closing landfills can have serious health impacts on a community, such as worsening of asthma and breathing issues due to release of methane gas, an asphyxiate in nature. The largest anthropogenic source of methane gas emissions in New Jersey is landfills, and though some of these sites use energy recovery systems to capture and use the greenhouse gas as a renewable energy resource, many do not. This allows toxins to simply leak into the air, along with other waste residuals entering the water and land around a waste site. It is likely that there are more facilities in Trenton releasing unreported or underreported toxins and contaminants.
Buildings that Trenton needs cannot be built on contaminated ground. Using more effective methods when identifying contaminated sites and throughout the cleanup process can be extremely beneficial to the environment and to the community. It is crucial for community members, officials, and those responsible for taking care of contaminated sites to be aware that it is not only the contaminated site that can affect public health, but the cleanup process as well. If contaminated sites are cleaned up efficiently and completely, the chances of toxins like lead leaking into the community will be much slimmer. Additionally, by keeping the environment in mind when taking care of these contaminated sites and following EPA-recommended procedures, the most can be made of Trenton’s land and building capacity.
Probable Causes
Past Policy
Current Policy
Policy Options Moving Forward
The Magic Marker site was located at 467 Calhoun Street, in a densely populated neighborhood and across from an elementary school.[16] The 7-acre site housed a commercial battery factory and then Magic Marker Industries over several decades, discharging hazardous contaminants such as lead into the soil and groundwater for decades, so in 1997, the NJDEP requested that the EPA conduct an investigation.[17] The EPA declared the site a superfund and began cleanup. As of today, the site has been completely remediated and turned into mixed income housing.[18] The Magic Marker Site has become a national model for brownfield development, given Isles’ ability to educate and involve community members about site contamination and reuse of a contaminated site. This cleanup followed the aforementioned EPA-style procedures of research, planning, and utilizing local efforts.
An independent research organization, Phytotech, conducted an experimental cleanup at the site.[19] They used Indian mustard plants to remove some of the lead and heavy metals from the contaminated soil in a process called phytoremediation—an innovative, emerging environmental cleanup technology that uses plants to remove pollution from soil and water.[20] The process, while it did not remove all of the lead from the soil, was successful in removing a large amount of lead from the topsoil, where most of the lead existed.[21]
Phytoremediation is extremely low cost, has minimal site restraints, and even leaves behind plants with a pleasing appearance that can help spread awareness of the contamination and the remediation. Excavation and disposal of contaminated soil costs millions of dollars, and phytoremediation can be up to 1,000 times cheaper. This innovative method also reduces the amount of waste at the end of the process. Other plants such as Vetiver grass, sunflowers, and pumpkin seeds are now being used and studied for phytoremediation purposes all throughout the country. EDTA can also be introduced into the process, acting as a chelating agent that sticks to the lead and hastens the process to yield better and quicker results. Phytoremediation is also applied to other contaminants besides lead; for instance, several cities have begun to use Poplar trees as a way to remove volatile organic compounds from the air.
Site remediation is about health, safety, and economic benefit. By identifying contaminated sites early and cleaning them up efficiently, we can significantly reduce the chance of lead making its way into children’s bloodstreams, and of other contaminants such as methane gas affecting the health of Trenton residents. Phytoremediation is certainly an interesting option to explore, given its low cost and various application for remediating contaminated sites. Taking these suggestions into consideration can keep the environment safe and increase land and building capacity in Trenton.
Key Organizations
Works Cited
Bibliography
“City of Trenton Natural Resource Inventory.” Delaware Valley DVRPC Regional Planning
Commission. February 2015. Accessed April 10, 2015.
“Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention.” New Jersey Department of Health. July 28, 2014.
Accessed April 14, 2015.
“Green Remediation Best Management Practices.” The Office of Superfund Remediation and
Technology Innovation. United States Environmental Protection Agency. March 2012.
Accessed April 20, 2015.
“Green Remediation Best Practices: Site Investigation.” The Office of Superfund Remediation
and Technology Innovation. United States Environmental Protection Agency. March
2012. Accessed April 20, 2015.
“Human Health and Lead.” United States Environmental Protection Agency. November 25,
2013. Accessed April 14, 2015.
Johnson, Marty and Elyse Pivnick. “Lead Poisoning Makes it Hard to Do Well.” NJ.com.
September 3, 2014. Accessed April 20, 2015.
“New Jersey Sites.” United States Environmental Protection Agency. April 30, 2015. Accessed
May 1, 2015.
“Magic Marker Site Fact Sheet.” Region 2 Superfunds. United States Environmental Protection
Agency. October 5, 2010. Accessed April 25, 2015.
“Solid Waste and Recycling.” Environmental Trends Report. New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection. October 2012. Accessed March 20, 2015.
“The Magic Marker Site.” Brownfield Redevelopment Solutions, Inc. 2015. Accessed April 25,
2015.